


A Soft Place to Land

by Athena83



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Canon-Typical Violence, Comfort, Common Cold, Developing Friendships, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Holidays, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28487898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athena83/pseuds/Athena83
Summary: Lira is an intel-gatherer for Greef Karga, working to get information on the quarries he sends his bounty hunters after, but her life slowly starts to change after she meets one bounty hunter in particular.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is the backstory of an OC I created for a failed RP, and that backstory turned into a whole fic for The Mandalorian and my OC, Lira. It begins several years before the events of Season One of The Mandalorian take place, but will eventually line up with the show.

Lira tossed her camera bag over her shoulder and headed toward the busy market. Greef Karga needed information on a potential quarry, and he’d asked her to have a look around. When Greef needed info, she was the first person he contacted.

She had her spiel down to a fine art. If anyone ever asked why she was taking pictures of a seemingly boring area, she always claimed she was taking tourism shots for a highly-regarded magazine. It usually worked, despite the fact that magazines weren’t exactly a thing in the Outer Rim, as long as she smooth talked them well enough, something she had gotten increasingly better at the longer she was away from Earth. Most of the ones who were curious or suspicious enough to ask her about it usually wanted their pictures taken for the magazine’s imaginary article, with assurances that they would be featured.

She often wondered how many of them tried to find the fictitious magazine later.

If the magazine angle didn’t work for one reason or another, she’d sometimes claim she was a tourist. The fewer details she gave, the better, and she’d usually slip away quickly if someone seemed more suspicious than usual. She’d creep behind a building, change her outerwear, wait a few minutes, and then get back to business.

Luckily, she was good at remaining unseen, and most people didn’t give her a second glance. They weren’t usually interested in people from Earth, and after being in space for three years, she sometimes managed to pass as a local. Humans were humans, as far as most were concerned.

This was her third market of the day and so far all she’d managed to learn was that she was not planning to ever return to this particular planet. It was too humid, too sandy, and much too bright. She was usually a fan of the Sun, but a planet having  _ four  _ suns was just overkill. 

Stepping out of the shade, she blinked in the bright sunlight, shielding her eyes with her hands as she looked across the market area, spotting a cantina with a sign bearing the name  _ The Four Suns. _

“Perfect,” she grumbled under her breath, making her way across the dusty market and maneuvering through the haggling crowd.

As she approached  _ The Four Suns _ , the metallic doors slid open and she stepped inside, grateful that the lighting inside was much dimmer than the name would suggest. After taking a moment to get her bearings, she approached the bar and sat a few stools away from a patron with his head down on the counter. The several empty glasses in front of him suggested he was now too drunk to sit up.

A droid approached her and wiped off the counter in front of her. “How may I help you today?”

“A Galactic Blaster, please.”

“Of course. One moment.”

A moment later, he slid a glass of blue liquid across the bar to her, and she nodded. “Thanks.”

She took a small sip, then grimaced. She didn’t particularly like drinking, but she tended to stand out if she walked into a cantina and didn’t order a drink, and she’d learned that the Galactic Blaster was one of the less-lethal ones.

She subtly turned on her stool so she could search the room while still innocently sipping her drink. A few minutes later, she spotted him. There, on the other side of the bar, was someone who matched the description Greef had given her perfectly.

“Gotcha,” she whispered, before taking one more sip of her drink.

She stood and pushed a couple of credits across the counter. The bar droid nodded at her.

“Thank you for your patronage.”

“Thank  _ you _ ,” she replied with a wink that was completely lost on the droid before making her way outside.

She found a spot on the other side of the market from the cantina, hidden by the busy shoppers, and leaned against the wall. Taking pictures inside of the cantina was a good way to get noticed by her quarry, or worse,  _ beaten up _ by her quarry, but outside, it was much easier to surreptitiously get a few shots of her target without being spotted.

She didn’t have to wait long. Her target emerged a few minutes later, blinking in the bright sunlight and stumbling a little, giving her ample time to take several shots, all high-quality close-ups, which, she thought, deserved a bonus from Greef.

The first thing she’d done after completing a few jobs for Greef Karga was to buy a new zoom lens for the camera she’d brought with her from Earth. It had paid for itself and more.

Her quarry began to move down the street and she followed at a safe distance, always being sure to be seen browsing the wares nearest her if he ever looked as though he was going to turn around.

Finally, he approached a speeder bike, climbed aboard, and was gone before she could get more than three shots of the speeder. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough for Greef’s band of bounty hunters. 

Satisfied, she walked to the port and hired a ship to carry her back to Nevarro. 

_ Later _ …

Stepping out of the ship, Lira handed the pilot a few credits, then made her way to the cantina to meet Greef. She entered the cantina, spotted him at his usual table, and sat down across from him.

“I didn’t expect you back so soon, Lira.”

“What can I say? I was tired of being on Ari.”

“Did you get the information?”

“Was there any doubt?”

Greef laughed. “None.”

She passed him the micro card with the pictures of the quarry on it, and he transferred them to a puck as she gave him the location where she’d found the target, as well as a description of his speeder bike.

When he was finished, he slid the puck and micro card back to her. “So you think he’ll stay on the planet?”

“He couldn’t get off-world with the speeder bike, and he didn’t head toward the port, so she should be there for at least a little while.”

Greef nodded, then slid a stack of credits across the table. “Good work, as always.”

She put the credits in her coat pocket and leaned back. “Same deal as always?”

“Yes, of course. Same as always - you go along with the bounty hunter, give him the necessary information needed, and get 15% of the cut. I then get 5% of  _ your  _ cut.”

“In addition to the 25% cut from the bounty hunter. You’re making a killing here, Greef, you know that?”

“Gotta make a living somehow.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you expecting any bounty hunters today?”

“Maybe. It’s probably time for a couple of them to show up with their last bounties. At least one of them should want a new puck.”

She nodded as she glanced around the cantina. She didn’t know all of Greef’s bounty hunters, but she hoped the ones who showed up weren’t any of her least-favorite ones. While none she’d met so far were any she’d want to spend time with socially, some were worse than others.

She turned back to Greef. “Think I’ll get some lunch while I wait, then.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

She raised a brow as she continued to sit and watch him.

He laughed and tossed a couple of credits to her. “Lunch is on me.”

Grinning, she stood and gave a mock bow. “Thank you.”

When she returned to the table with her food, there was a stranger sitting in her chair. She set her food down, grabbed another chair from the tablet next to him, and sat without a word, waiting for an introduction. 

Greef didn’t hesitate.

“Mando, this is Lira Stewart. She’s the one who got the information on today’s quarry.”

The Mandalorian nodded in her direction.  _ Not a man of many words _ , she thought.

Greef turned to her. “Mando is the best.”

“That’s good to hear.” She winked before taking a bite of her food, then leaned back in her chair as she observed the two men.

“Lira and I have a deal, Mando. If she gets the information for the puck, she goes along with the bounty hunter to assist, earning her a cut of 15%.”

“Of which he gets 5%,” she added.

Greef shrugged. “Have to make it worth my while.”

The Mandalorian shook his head slightly. “No.”

“Come on, Mando, it’s part of the agreement I have with Lira.”

“I don’t care.”

“I need this quarry brought in quickly, and you’re the best mine for the job.”

“I’ll do it, but I work alone.”

Lira put her elbows on the table and pointed at the Mandalorian. “You’re not getting this puck without me.”

Greef sighed. “Just give it a chance, Mando. If it doesn’t work out, you don’t have to take any pucks that Lira brings in for me in the future.”

“Even though mine are the best quarries,” she pointed out.

Greef tilted his head in acknowledgment of her statement. “She’s right.”

“How much?”

“10,000 credits.”

The Mandalorian sat in silence for a moment before finally replying. “Fine.”

Lira grinned as she slid the puck across the table to Mando at the same time Greef handed him the fob. 

“So when do we leave?” she asked.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the backstory of an OC I created for a failed RP, and that backstory turned into a whole fic for The Mandalorian and my OC, Lira. It begins several years before the events of Season One of The Mandalorian take place, but will eventually line up with the show.

“Nice ship you have here.” Lira looked around as she settled into the co-pilot’s chair of Mando’s ship.

He didn’t reply, but she thought she saw him tilt his head in acknowledgment.

“What is it?”

“A Razor Crest.”

“Not bad.”

“Thanks.”

She wanted to laugh because she could tell that was probably the longest conversation he’d ever had on the ship, but she managed to control herself. “Do you know how to get to Ari?”

“Yes.”

She watched him press a few buttons and flip a few switches, and then they were airborne.

“Have you been there often?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you like it?”

“Do you always talk this much?”

“I’m just trying to make conversation! We’re going to be stuck together for a while today, so I was trying to keep things from being awkward. Excuse me for having manners.”

He kept staring straight ahead at his console without replying, and Lira sighed. A couple of minutes later, she looked at him again.

“So you don’t like it?”

“What?”

“Ari.”

He turned to stare at her for a moment before returning his helmeted gaze to the sky in front of him. “No.”

“Yeah, I didn’t like it, either. It was  _ far _ too bright. I mean,  _ four suns _ ? Why are there so many? I bet the sunblock stalls make a fortune every day.” She looked at his armor, then added, “I guess you don’t have to worry about sunblock, though.”

When he didn’t reply, she sighed again and turned her attention to the window in front of her as she twisted the bracelet on her wrist in circles. 

_ Two hours later… _

Lira’s elbow was propped on the armrest, her head resting against her hand, when Mando finally spoke, startling her enough that her elbow slipped.

“What?” she said, feeling disoriented.

“I asked what information you had on the quarry.”

“Oh. I found him at a local cantina, _The Four Suns_ , earlier today, and he wasn’t heading toward the port when he left. It looked like he may have been heading back toward the residential areas, so either he lives on the planet or he was visiting someone. Either way, he looked like a regular in the bar. Several people spoke to him in a familiar fashion while I was there.”

“A familiar fashion?”

“Yeah. You know… friendly.”

“I know what it means.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Then what -”

“That’s all you have?”

“Isn’t that enough? We know he frequents the cantina, we know he probably lives in that residential area, we know what he looks like and what kind of speeder bike he rides. Greef has his age and other relevant information on the puck. You have the tracking fob. What else do you want to know? Do you want to know his favorite color? Should I have asked him what he likes to do on holidays?”

He turned to look at her and she smacked her forehead with her palm. “Oh! I should have asked him if he had pets.”

The Mandalorian turned his attention back to the control panel as he landed the Razor Crest in silence. After he parked, he stood and made his way to the door of the cockpit before turning back to Lira, who was still sitting in the co-pilot’s chair.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Lira turned her chair to face him. “Why would I come with you?”

“You don’t help?”

“I  _ already  _ helped. I got the information. What else do you want me to do?”

“Why do you demand to go with the bounty hunters if you don’t help?”

“Again, I’ve  _ already  _ helped, and I go with the bounty hunters so I can be sure I get my cut.”

“Wouldn’t Karge give you the cut without you tagging along with the bounty hunters?”

She gave him a look that clearly said she couldn’t believe he’d asked that. “Do you  _ think  _ he would? He’d tell me the bounty hunter had said my information was bad and then I’d be out of a payday. I ride along, give the bounty hunter my intel, and go with them to meet Greef. I get paid and I go home.”

“You don’t have a weapon?”

Lira’s brows creased in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t have a weapon on you. Is that why you don’t want to leave the ship?”

“How do you know I don’t have a weapon?”

Mando stared at her without replying.

Lira crossed her arms and covered her chest with them. “Do you have  _ x-ray vision  _ or something? Is  _ that  _ what the helmet’s for?”

He shook his head once. “No, I don’t have x-ray vision. It’s the way you carry yourself.”

“The way I  _ carry myself _ ? What does that mean?”

“If you carried a weapon, you would move differently.”

“Differently  _ how _ ?”

He didn’t answer her and she sighed, loudly, though she didn’t lower her arms.

“So you don’t have x-ray vision, but you can apparently tell I don’t have weapons because of the way I  _ move _ . What else can you tell?”

Mando remained silent and Lira rolled her eyes. “Fine, don’t tell me.”

She swiveled her chair to the front again. When she turned her head to look back a few moments later, Mando was gone.

_ Later… _

Just when Lira was beginning to wonder if the Mandalorian was ever going to return, she saw him crossing the barren desert of the landing area, his quarry in tow. She stood and stretched as she waited for him to return to the cockpit. He climbed the ladder a few minutes later, and she sat again.

“I see you were successful.”

He nodded as he sat in the pilot’s chair, flicking a few switches to get them airborne again.

“Where did you find him?”

Mando glanced at her. “The cantina.”

Grinning, she crossed her arms and leaned back in the co-pilot’s chair. “Told you.”

They rode without speaking again for several minutes, Lira staring out the window at the stars, lost in thought, when Mando finally broke the silence.

“You need a weapon.”

Jolted out of her thoughts, she turned to stare at him. “What?”

“You need a weapon if you’re going to keep riding out with bounty hunters.”

“It’s fine. I usually stay on the ship anyway.”

He turned to look at her. “What happens if something goes wrong?”

She knew she’d be in serious trouble if something went wrong, so she didn’t answer him. He tilted his head as though he’d heard her thoughts, then turned to face the front again.

“I’ll give you one when we land.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.”

“I can’t accept -”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to give you one. I have plenty.”

“I know, but -”

“Just take it.”

“But I don’t know how to use a weapon!”

It was quiet in the cockpit for several seconds before Mando sighed and said, “I’ll teach you.”

“What?”

“I said I’ll teach you.”

“I heard what you said, but why would you do that?”

It took so long for him to reply that Lira wondered if he ever would. “It’s dangerous to roam the galaxy without a weapon.”

“But why would you care if I know how to fire a weapon or not?”

“Because I’m not giving you one of my weapons if you don’t know how to use it.”

“Do you think I’ll accidentally shoot you?” Silence. “Do you think I’ll  _ intentionally _ shoot you?” He turned to stare at her and she suddenly realized she didn’t really know this Mandalorian and she wondered if she might have gone too far. “I wouldn’t. Intentionally shoot you, I mean. I might  _ accidentally  _ do it. I’d try not to, though.”

He faced the front without replying again and Lira felt her cheeks burn.

“Do you want one or not?”

“Yes,” she replied, her voice meek. “Thank you.” He nodded, and she added, “But I’m going to pay you for the lessons.”

“Fine.”

They made the rest of the trip in silence.


	3. Chapter Three

After they landed and completed the deal with Greef, Lira followed Mando back to the Razor Crest.

If you’ve changed your mind about giving me a weapon, it’s fine. I won’t be offended or anything.”

Mando kept walking without turning around. “I haven’t changed my mind.”

“I can pay you for it.”

“You don’t have to pay me.”

They boarded the ship and he led her to a supply closet, entering a code on the panel next to it. Lira stared in awe as the doors opened.

“Wow, that is… that’s… have you  _ used  _ all those weapons?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a lot of weapons for one person.”

He reached into the closet and removed a small blaster, which he handed to her, and she hesitantly took it from him, holding it cautiously.

“It’s not loaded.”

“Oh, good. That’s good to know.”

He turned back to the closet and pulled out a holster belt and a small box of ammo. He held out the holster belt to her, and said, “Put this on.”

She put the blaster into the holster, buckled the belt around her waist, then looked back at him expectantly.

“First, I’ll show you how to hold it.”

“Oh. Oh, so we’re starting the lessons  _ now _ ?”

“Unless you have something better to do?”

She shrugged. “No, I guess not.”

He showed her how to hold the blaster, how to aim, how to avoid aiming at  _ him _ , and how to load and unload the ammo.

He glanced out of the ship’s open rear door.

“It’s getting dark. I’ll show you how to shoot it next time.”

“When’s next time?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Okay.” He held out his hand and she stared at it for a moment. “What?” she asked, looking back to his helmet.

“The blaster.”

“I thought you were giving it to me?”

“I am, but you’re not leaving with it until you know how to shoot it.”

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense.” She removed the blaster from the belt, handing it to him the way he’d taught her how to correctly pass a weapon to another person.

It was hard to tell with the helmet, but she thought he seemed pleased that she’d remembered.

She gave a quick salute. “Until tomorrow, then.”

“Good night.”

She walked down the ramp, turning at the bottom to wave goodbye, then made her way home.

Mando watched until she was out of sight, closing the rear doors when he could no longer see her in the darkness.

He wasn’t sure why he’d offered a weapon to her. He definitely didn’t know why he’d offered to give her  _ lessons  _ on top of  _ that _ . He hadn’t wanted her to tag along with him in the first place, and if it hadn’t been for the 10,000 credits attached to the puck she had held hostage, he would have refused. 

He also wasn’t sure what to make of  _ her _ . She was competent in what she did, that much was clear, if only because Greef put so much stock in her abilities, but the fact that she wandered the galaxy on her own to get information on dangerous quarries made him think she really didn’t understand the danger that was out there. 

The fact that she went out and had to mingle with the seedy underbelly of the galaxy to get information for Greef, and she did it  _ without a weapon _ \- it was baffling to him. He didn’t know what she expected to do if the bounty hunter she rode along with was injured or killed and the quarry found out she was the informant. Although, by the look on her face when he’d asked her what she’d do, he guessed she knew she’d be in trouble if it happened.

He shook his head and started up the Razor Crest, determined not to worry about her anymore. He’d give her a few more lessons, just until he was confident she could handle the blaster and he wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not he’d made a mistake in giving her a weapon, and then he’d never have to see her again. 

Lira returned to the Razor Crest the following day, and the next, and the  _ next.  _ Finally, Mando agreed that she was competent enough to take the blaster home with her at the end of the day.

“Does this mean no more lessons?”

“No. It just means I don’t think there’s a risk of you accidentally shooting yourself on the way home.”

“I appreciate your faith in me.”

She handed him the credits for her lesson, and he nodded in response, tucking them into a pocket.

“Are you going to pick up a puck from Greef today?”

“Maybe.”

“I have some information for him, so if you want to go with me, you can have the first opportunity to get the puck.”

“How do you know I’ll want it?”

She gave him a small smirk. “I just have a feeling you might.”

He nodded and they walked to the cantina, joining Greef at his usual table.

“Well,” Greef said as they both pulled out chairs to sit. “I didn’t expect to see the two of you together today.”

Lira shrugged. “We happened to walk in together, that’s all. Here’s the information for the puck.”

She slid the camera’s micro card across the table to him and he added the pictures to the puck.

“Since you’re here, Mando, have any interest in this one?”

Greef placed the puck on the table and Mando picked it up, his head tilting slightly as he watched the quarry’s holo flicker to life.

Turning his helmet in Lira’s direction, he asked, “You know where he is?”

She raised her brows and flashed him a grin. “Yep.”

He turned back to Greef. “I’ll take it.”

Lira laughed. “I knew you would.”

She didn’t know much about the history between Mando and the quarry, but she’d heard rumors and knew that Mando wasn’t happy that the quarry had once eluded capture and that he’d jump at the chance to bring him in this time.

Greef looked between the two of them before asking, “Don’t you want to know the reward for this one?”

Mando stood, picking up his Amban rifle. “It doesn’t matter.”

Lira took her card back from Karga and inserted it into her camera, watching as the Mandalorian walked out of the cantina. “I have a feeling we’ll be back sooner rather than later with this one.”

Greef watched the two of them as Lira ran to catch up with Mando, then shook his head, chuckling quietly to himself.

  
  



	4. Chapter Four

Four years and many shooting lessons later, Lira had learned very few things about Mando. She knew he was a Mandalorian, obviously, and a member of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild, but past that, she knew nothing.

She was skilled at getting information, at learning about people, but it was as though the Beskar helmet blocked her from learning anything about the Mandalorian seated next to her. She watched him expertly pilot the Razor Crest into the sky for a moment before speaking.

“You know, I’ve known you for four years and I still don’t know your real name.”

He was silent, which she expected, but she was persistent.

“Is it a secret?”

He tilted his head slightly. “Yes.”

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t really think it was  _ actually  _ a secret. I just, you know, thought… well, nevermind what I thought.”

“It’s fine.”

“Have you ever told anyone?”

He shook his head. “Not since I was a child.”

“Do the other Mandalorians know it?”

“A few do, but they don’t use it.”

“Do you miss it?”

He turned to glance at her. “Miss what?”

“Someone calling you by your name.”

She began to worry she’d pried too much, but he finally spoke, his modulated voice low. “Sometimes.”

Slowly, as though she was afraid any sudden movement would spook him, she reached out and placed her hand gently on his arm.

“I’m sorry.”

He stared at her hand resting on his arm for a moment and then at her face. “Thank you.”

The sincerity in his voice almost made her tear up, but she knew he would hate that, so she kept her voice steady. “You’re welcome.”

She leaned back in the co-pilot’s chair again, twisting her bracelet around her wrist as they sat in comfortable silence. Lira normally didn’t like silences. They were typically awkward and she usually embarrassed herself by babbling while she tried to keep the silences at bay, but it was different with Mando. At least, it was different with Mando  _ now _ . She still remembered how much she’d rambled to fill the silences when she’d first started going along with him. She winced at the memory.

She still didn’t know much about him, but she’d started to relax in his presence, and after four years, the silences didn’t bother her. She hoped he felt the same. 

_ One year later… _

Lira looked to the door of the cantina for the eleventh time in five minutes, her leg bouncing under the table.

Greef, tired of the table shaking, finally spoke up. “Are you expecting someone, Lira?”

Her head swung back to face him. “What? No. Why would you think that?”

“Because you haven’t stopped checking the door since you sat down.”

She resolutely kept her gaze in his direction and away from the door. “Nope, I’m not expecting anyone. Just antsy today, I guess.”

“Why don’t you go out for a while, do some shopping, stretch your legs. I’ll contact you if anyone shows up and wants your puck.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m fine here.”

The look he gave her said he clearly didn’t believe she was fine, but she missed it due to the fact that her attention was once again on the door. When it slid open, she sat up a little straighter, only for her shoulders to slump again when she didn’t recognize the patron entering the cantina.

“Are you  _ sure _ you’re not waiting for someone in particular, Lira?”

“Positive. I think I’ll get a drink. Do you want anything?”

“A drink? I thought you hated drinking.”

She shrugged, then stood, pushing her chair under the table. “Yeah, well, I want a drink today. So do you want one?”

“Sure. A small Liquid Sun.”

“Got it.”

When she returned five minutes later, she set Greef’s Liquid Sun in front of him, then sat and took a sip of her Galatic Blaster, grimacing as it burned her throat on the way down. “Ugh, this never gets any better.”

The cantina doors opened again, and she automatically glanced over, a small smile appearing on her face when she recognized the familiar Mandalorian armor.

Greef didn’t miss her reaction, raising a brow as he watched her. “Ah, I see.”

Her head swiveled back to him and her eyes narrowed. “You see  _ what _ , exactly?”

“Who you were waiting for all day.”

“I haven’t been  _ waiting _ for anyone, except someone to take my puck so I can get paid.”

“If you insist.”

“I do.” She took another sip of her drink, trying not to cough. “And if you say anything to the contrary when he gets to this table, I will put out a bounty on  _ you _ .” 

Greef held up his hands in surrender. “I won’t say a word.”

“Won’t say a word about what?”

Lira jumped, the sound of Mando’s voice so close startling her. She hadn’t expected him to reach the table so soon.

Greef dismissed his question with a wave, for which Lira was grateful. “Nothing, Mando, have a seat. I have a few pucks for you to choose from today.”

He slid a few of them across the table for Mando to examine, but Mando didn’t pick any of them up.

He looked to Lira and asked, “Which one is yours?”

She picked one from the pile and showed it to him. “This one.”

“I’ll take it.”

Greef looked surprised. “You don’t even want to check the others?” He held up another puck. “This one in particular has a high reward.”

Mando plucked the puck from Lira’s hand. “No. I’ll take this one.”

“It’s your choice, of course. If I still have these others when you get back, you’re more than welcome to take another.”

Mando nodded, then stood as G reef passed him the tracking fob.

“Good luck, and thanks for the drink, Lira."

“My pleasure, Greef. See you later.” 

Mando and Lira left the cantina and headed for the Razor Crest, not speaking until they were both onboard and he was starting up the ship.

“Where can I find the quarry?”

“On Dandoran.”

He flipped a few more switches, getting them airborne, then steered the ship in the direction of their quarry.

A few minutes passed in silence before Lira finally spoke up. “Why didn’t you check the other pucks?”

Mando stared at her. “What?”

“Greef was right, you know, that other puck had a much higher reward.”

Mando faced the console again, pressing a few buttons. “I didn’t want it.”

“Why not?”

Mando sighed into his modulator. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. I wanted your puck because I like having company sometimes.”

Lira grinned.

When she didn’t say anything, Mando turned to look at her, sighing again when he saw the look on her face. “What?”

“I just never expected you to admit that you like company.”

He turned back to face the front. “Sometimes. Although now you’re making me regret it.”

She laughed. “No! You can’t regret it! It’s too late now, I know you like my company. So let’s chat.”

“You know what, I think I  _ would _ prefer that higher reward. I’m taking you back.”

She laughed again. “Sorry, a deal’s a deal. Greef would never let you swap.”

Mando shook his head, but Lira could tell he wasn’t actually annoyed, a thought which buoyed her enough to ask her next question.

“So now that we’re friends, can you tell me your name?”

“I didn’t say we were friends. And no.”

“Two people who like each other’s company are friends, Mando. That’s how it works.”

“So you like my company, too?”

“I stepped right into that one, didn’t I?”  His head tilted slightly, and even though she couldn’t see it, she imagined he smiled.  “Fine, yes, I like your company, too. Are you happy?”

“Maybe.”

“I mean, you’re definitely miles above the other bounty hunters. At least you don’t stink.”

A surprised huff came through the modulator, a sound that might have been laughter. “The others stink?”

“Some of them do! I’ve had to refuse  _ several  _ of their offers for my pucks because I couldn’t handle the stench.”

“Karga didn’t mind you turning down potential bounty hunters just because they smelled bad?”

“He couldn’t say anything because the smell took his breath away.”

That sound was definitely a laugh and Lira beamed.

“Well, I’m happy to know that I don’t stink.”

“Nope, you have nothing to worry about.”

They sat without speaking for a few more minutes, both lost in their own thoughts.  It was Mando who broke the silence. 

“It’s Din, by the way,” he said quietly.

Lira sat up a little straighter, leaning closer to hear him. “What?”

“My name. It’s Din. Din Djarin.”

Lira smiled. “Din,” she repeated, savoring the sound and feel of it. “I like that.”  Din kept his attention on the console, pressing a few buttons.  “Thank you for telling me, Din.”

He turned to look at her again. “You’re welcome.”

He wasn’t sure what had possessed him when he’d told her his name. He’d never had any intentions of ever telling  _ anyone  _ else his name, and though he sometimes missed hearing someone call him by name, he’d never felt the urge to tell anyone. It was just one more thing he’d left behind when he’d swore the Creed.

But with Lira, he hadn’t even really thought about it. Well, he’d  _ thought  _ about it. He’d thought about it several times, but only in passing, and never with any real intentions of actually going through with it. It was always in moments of weakness, when he was feeling particularly lonely, and usually when he was sitting in the cockpit surrounded by silence after a day spent listening to Lira talk, that he began to consider it. 

It had taken him a while to realize that he actually enjoyed listening to her talk. It was different, something he wasn’t used to, and he was not good at keeping up his side of the conversation, but it never seemed to bother her. He’d felt uncomfortable at first, expecting her to get upset when he didn’t reply to her very much, but she never had, and he’d finally relaxed around her.

Well, maybe not  _ relaxed _ , but he no longer worried that she’d expect him to participate in any deep conversations or get upset when he wasn’t more forthcoming. 

But telling her his name on that particular day had come out of nowhere. Or maybe it really hadn’t, he mused. Maybe it had just built up to that. They’d been running missions together for years, and maybe, like she’d said, they were friends. It was an unfamiliar feeling, having friends. He had his fellow Mandalorians, but he wouldn’t really consider them  _ friends _ . He couldn’t imagine going back to the covert that night and asking any of them about their days or feelings or opinions. 

And he had  _ acquaintances _ , people he knew, like Karga, but didn’t socialize with outside of bounty hunting. Most people, he knew, were too intimidated by the Mandalorians to want to strike up a friendship, and that had suited him perfectly fine up until recently.

He found that he liked the idea of having a friend, and, more confusingly, liked the thought of it being Lira. 

He had thought it would be more of an ordeal to finally tell someone his name, that it would be slightly terrifying, or like losing a part of himself, but it hadn’t felt that way at all. Lira had taken it in stride, but at the same time, he knew she understood the weight of it, and he didn't regret his decision at all. 


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warnings: Some strong language.

Lira swiveled in her chair slightly as she watched Din flick a few switches on his console.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to answer.”

Din turned to stare at her. “What is it?”

“It’s about your helmet.”

Din sighed and turned back to his console. “What do you want to know?”

“Why don’t you ever take it off?”

“It’s part of the Mandalorian Creed?”

“What does that mean?”

He tilted his head to the side. “The armor, the helmet - it’s our way of life. We wear it to signify that we’re Mandalorians. We don’t take the helmet off or allow it to be removed in front of anyone.”

“So it’s like a mark of honor?”

Din lifted a shoulder. “Something like that.”

“What happens if you take it off in front of someone?”

“I just can’t put it back on again.”

“So you wouldn’t be a Mandalorian anymore?”

“No.”

Lira watched in silence for a moment as he pressed a few more buttons. “Do you ever wish you  _ could  _ take it off in front of someone?”

He took so long to answer that she wondered if he would.

“Sometimes.”

“But you won’t?”

“No.”

“I can respect that.”

“Thank you.”

“What do you look like?”

“What?”

“Well, I mean, I wouldn’t be able to pick you out of a line up if your helmet was removed. What happens if you get kidnapped or something and I have to save you, but they’ve taken off your helmet? I wouldn’t know who to save.”

Din turned and stared at her again. “Do you think that’s likely?”

“Well, it’s not  _ impossible _ .”

“I think there’s a better chance of me having to save  _ you _ .”

“How much do you want to bet?”

“You want to make a bet on who has to rescue the other?”

“Yeah, I mean, you seem pretty confident that I won’t be saving  _ you _ , so you should be fine with a little bet.”

“Fine,” Din replied.

“How about one hundred credits?”

“Can you spare one hundred credits?”

“I am  _ offended _ , good sir. First of all,  _ yes _ . Secondly, you might have to pay  _ me _ one hundred credits.”

“I doubt it.”

“So confident!”

“Is it a bet?”

“You bet that shiny Beskar helmet,  _ it’s a bet _ .”

He held out his gloved hand and Lira shook it.

When they returned to Nevarro later and settled up with Greef Karga, Lira walked back out of the cantina with Din.

“Well, be careful out there. But not  _ too  _ careful. I could use those credits.”

Din shook his head. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Lira laughed. “We’ll see.”

_ Three days later… _

Lira sighed as she trudged through the sandy desert of Cantonica. If it wasn’t for the chance of a high payoff from the bounty, she would have told Greef to get the information on the quarry himself. It wouldn’t have been quite as bad if the droid speeder she’d hired to carry her to Canto Bight had actually dropped her off  _ near  _ Canto Bight instead of in the middle of a desert.

She could barely make out the city in the distance, but at least she could tell what direction to travel in, though the sand was making it take longer than it should.

She would be happy if she never saw sand again.

She cursed as she waved a sand fly out of her face, then felt her face sink several inches. Her annoyance turned to fear as she realized she couldn’t lift her feet out of the sand.

“Fucking  _ sand. _ ”

The more she tried to lift her legs, the more she felt herself sink, so she tried to take a few steadying breaths to calm herself.

“Ugh, this is happening because I said that quicksand wasn’t as much of a problem in my adult life as the media in my childhood made me believe the other day, isn’t it?”

She tried to pull her leg out again and felt herself sink to her knees, the fear becoming a little more palpable at the realization. She pulled her communicator out of her pocket, cursing again when it beeped once and the power cell died.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” She shoved the communicator back in her pocket and felt herself sink another inch at the sudden movement. “No way to contact anybody, nothing but  _ fucking sand _ for miles, and now I’m  _ talking to myself. _ ”

She tried not to move, but standing still and accepting her eventual demise by sand didn’t appeal to her, so she occasionally tried again to lift her legs out of the quicksand. It only resulted in her sinking until the sand was up to her hips.

She heard the sound of a droid speeder in the distance and waved her arms once it was closer.

“Hey! Hey, over here!”

The speeder stopped and then made its way over to her. There wasn’t a passenger, which meant she would have to depend on the droid to pass along a message for her. It wasn’t her idea of a good plan, but she didn’t have any other choices.

“Are you heading to Canto Bight?”

The droid beeped and she took it for assent.

“When you get there, will you tell someone that I need help? And then lead them back to me?”

The droid beeped again and it seemed to shake its head. 

“Okay, don’t come back, but at least tell them where I am!”

The droid gave a series of beeps that sounded like laughter, then sped off again.

Lira sputtered for a moment. “Was that… did that… did that droid just  _ laugh at me _ ? I’m going to kill it.”

_ Elsewhere in the Outer Rim… _

Din entered the cantina and sat at Greef Karga’s usual table, setting his Amban rifle on top of it.

“Ah, Mando, good to see you. I’ve got several pucks for you to choose from today.”

Karga slid a few across the table to Din, who picked a couple up to examine them. 

“Lira doesn’t have any pucks today?” Din asked.

“I haven’t seen her in a couple of days. She was supposed to go to Canto Bight on Cantonica and get information on a new quarry for me, but she should have been back by now. I guess you haven’t heard from her?”

“No. When did she leave?”

“Let’s see… I think it was three days ago.”

Din stood without choosing any of the pucks and grabbed his Amban rifle.

“Wait, Mando! Are you not taking a bounty job this time?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I already have one.”

Karga lifted one of the pucks. “It  _ can’t  _ pay more than this one!”

“It pays one hundred credits.”

He turned and left the cantina, leaving a stunned Karga mumbling, “Only one hundred credits?”

_ Later, in Canto Bight… _

Din wasn’t sure what kind of trouble Lira had gotten herself into, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to rest until he was sure she was okay. He’d trained her himself, so he knew she could take care of herself in most instances, but some of the quarries she tracked for Karga were more dangerous than others, and he worried that this one had been more than she could handle.

He had no idea where she could be, but the best place to find information in a place like Cantonica was the local cantina. He walked into one of the many cantinas in Canto Bight and sat at an empty table.

A waiter droid approached him. “What can I get for you today, sir?”

“Nothing.”

“I am sorry, sir, but I must ask you to leave if you do not wish to order.”

Din turned his head to stare at the droid, his hand hovering on the blaster resting in his holster.

“Actually, sir, feel free to stay as long as you like. I will bring a glass of something for you, on the house.”

The droid hurried away, and Din turned his attention to the conversations happening around him. After several minutes with no luck, he was about to leave and try to get information elsewhere when a snippet of a conversation drifted across the room to him.

“ - and this droid says some stupid human walked right into the sand wastes. Straight up to her hips!”

Drunken laughter broke out at the table, several of the table’s occupants beating their fists against the wooden surface in their mirth. Their laughter turned to glares as Din approached the table.

“Where’s the droid?”

“Get out of here, Mandalorian. You’re not wanted here.”

Din reached out and grabbed the front of the speaker’s coat and lifted him out of his chair. “Where’s the droid?” he repeated.

The man pointed to the other side of the cantina. “Over - over there.”

Din dropped the man and strode over to the droid. “Where can I find the woman you saw in the sand wastes?”

The droid issued a series of beeps and whistles, which sounded suspiciously like laughter to Din. He removed his blaster and pointed it at the droid, who squealed.

The waiter droid reappeared at Din’s side. “I’m sorry, sir, but weapons are not allowed in this establishment.”

Din tilted his head at the squealing droid. “What’s this droid saying?”

“He’s saying the human is about two miles west of here, sir.”

Din considered getting the serial number of the still-squealing droid so he could hunt it down later, but he had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. He left the cantina and started making his way west. It wasn’t dark yet, but it would be soon, and he wanted to find Lira before he lost the daylight.

He thought about taking the Razor Crest, but was afraid he wouldn’t be able to land it in the sand wastes, so instead he set out on foot. When he neared the edge of the wastes, he made his way carefully, doing his best to avoid any dangerous spots.

After about thirty minutes with still no sign of Lira, he wondered if the droid had given him bad information. If it had, he wouldn’t rest until the droid was destroyed. He lifted his Amban rifle again to look further into the sand wastes. He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted her, then began walking in her direction, still watching the ground for a safe path.

_ The middle of the sand wastes, mired in quicksand… _

Lira was fast losing hope of ever getting out of the quicksand, and was about to resign herself to a sandy death when she thought she saw a dark figure walking across the desert toward her.

“Fucking sand, making me hallucinate. Or, with my luck, it’s probably the Grim Reaper.”

She squinted as she tried to make out the figure, which looked vaguely human-shaped.

“Oh my god, maybe that stupid droid actually got help for me. It might survive the night, after all.”

When the figure moved closer, Lira dropped her head back and sighed dramatically. “Oh, you have  _ got  _ to be kidding me.”

Din crossed his arms as he looked down at her. “Heard you needed some help.”

“Isn’t there someone else with you?” Lira asked. “Can you go back and get someone else to actually rescue me?”

“No.”

“Fiiiiine. Just get me out of here.”

Din knelt next to the quicksand. “Slowly remove your bag and hand it to me.”

She did as he ordered, and he placed her bag on the sand behind him, turning back to her and holding out his hand. “Breathe deeply and take a couple of steps back.”

She nodded and tried moving back a couple of steps. “That’s easier said than done, you know.”

“I know. Now, hold my hand, and move  _ slowly _ . I’m going to pull you out of there.”

She grabbed his hand and took another deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“You can use your feet to try to help lift yourself, but if you feel yourself sinking again, stop moving.”

She bit her lip and nodded again. “Is this going to work?”

“It will.”

“What if I just… get swallowed up?”

“I won’t let go of your hand, Lira.”

“What if you get swallowed up, too?”

“Nobody is getting swallowed by quicksand. I won’t let you go. Just take your time, we’ll get you out.”

She squeezed his hand. “Okay, let’s do this.”

_ Thirty minutes later… _

When she was finally free of the quicksand, Lira let go of Din’s hand. She was afraid she’d sink again and was not keen to repeat the experience, but she felt awkward continuing to hold his hand.

Din picked up her bag and slung it over his shoulder. “You really need to rest, but it’s getting dark and that will make it harder to get out of here. Do you think you can walk for a while?”

“How far is it?”

“A couple of miles.”

She sighed. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“Okay, you can rest on the ship. Let’s go.”

Lira followed as Din began walking in the direction of his ship. She moved to his side, stumbling as she did so, and Din reached out and gently grabbed her upper arm to keep her steady. She allowed him to guide her, quietly breathing a sigh of relief at the thought that he would keep her from sinking again.

When they reached the edge of the sand wastes, he let go of her arm. “There’s no chance of sinking now.”

The Razor Crest appeared in the distance just as the sun sank from view.

“Are you going to make me stay in the lower cargo hold because of all the sand?”

“Probably.”

“Fucking  _ sand _ .”

Din huffed a breath of laughter into his modulator. “You can knock the sand off before you get on the ship.”

“And then I can sit in the cockpit?”

“Yes. After you pay me the one hundred credits you owe me.”

Lira clutched her chest in mock surprise. “You’re going to demand money of me  _ right now _ ? When my life has flashed before my eyes? When I’ve been mocked by a  _ droid _ ? When I shall be dreaming of sand  _ for the rest of my life _ ?”

“You’re the one who wanted to make a bet.”

“Ugh, you’re right. Fine, I’ll pay you  _ two  _ hundred if you’ll get me off this forsaken planet immediately.”

“You’ve got a deal.”

They reached the Razor Crest and Lira knocked off as much sand as she could, grumbling the entire time. “ - sand in places where sand should  _ never be _ .”

Din shook his head and carried her bag onto the ship. After she was relatively sand-free, she followed him onboard and climbed the ladder to the cockpit, where she found her bag next to the co-pilot’s chair. She pulled out two hundred credits, which she could scarce afford, though she would never tell him that, and dropped them onto Din’s outstretched hand as she sat next to him.

“Ready to go?” he asked, pocketing the credits.

“Yes. I never want to see this place again.” He started up the ship, but stopped as she held up a hand. “Wait. You fancy destroying a droid tonight?”

Din turned to look at her. “If it’s the same one I’m thinking about, yes.”

“Small astromech droid with an attitude?”

Din shut the ship down again. “That’s the one.”

Lira grinned and grabbed her blaster from her bag. “Let’s go.”


	6. Chapter Six

A few days after Lira’s near-death experience with the sand, she and Din made their way to the Razor Crest after he’d met with Greef Karga and picked up Lira’s bounty puck. Once they were on the ship and settled into their seats, Din reached over and picked up a small box, which he handed to her.

“What’s this?” She opened the box to reveal a new communicator. It wasn’t top-of-the-line, but it was far better than the one she’d had before. “Is this for me?”

“Yes.”

“You bought a communicator for me?”

Din continued to busy himself by flipping switches and pressing buttons as he started up the ship. “Yes.”

“Why would you do that?”

“So the next time you get stuck in quicksand, you can call someone for help.”

“The  _ next - _ there will be no  _ next  _ time for me and quicksand, my dear Mandalorian. I am swearing off sand forever.”

“Probably not a bad idea.”

She shook her head and closed the box again. “I can’t accept this.”

“Why not?”

“I would feel weird about it.”

“Why?”

She rolled her eyes. “I just would. It’s too much.”

Din finally turned to face her. “It’s not too much. You need a new one now that yours is full of sand, and you have to admit that your old one was about to give up the ghost anyway. Your power cells lasted about twenty minutes before dying completely. If you’re going to keep going off on your own tracking these quarries for Karga, you need a reliable way to call for help if you need it.”

Lira was momentarily stunned by the sheer length of Din’s speech, but it didn’t last long. “I can buy my own communicator later, it’ll just take me a little while to save up the credits.”

“I know you can, but you need one  _ now _ . It’s not a big deal, Lira. Just take it.”

She sighed as she looked at his helmet’s visor, wishing for the hundredth time that she could see his eyes. “It  _ is  _ a big deal. But thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He turned back to his console and flipped a few more switches, and she placed a hand on his arm. “No, really,  _ thank you _ .”

He met her gaze and nodded, then faced the front as she opened the communicator’s box again.

“Are you sure this wasn’t too expensive?”

“I’m sure.”

“It’s so fancy!”

“It’s just a basic one.”

“But still! It’s so much better than my old one.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it. Ooooh, it can store contact information so I can call you without even pressing a button! Watch!” She stored Din’s communicator info into her device, then cleared her throat and said, “Call Mando.”

Din’s communicator beeped and Lira’s hologram popped up.

“Okay, that’s amazing,” Lira said, beaming. “It can store up to ten contacts. Nice.”

“Who else are you going to store in it?”

Lira shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t really have anyone else to call.”

Din turned his head enough to watch her as she flipped through a few pages of the user guide. “Yeah, I don’t, either.”

She glanced up and gave him a small smile. “Well, you can call me anytime.”

“Thanks.”

She turned back to the user guide, the small smile still on her face. “Ooooh, it says the power cell can last for  _ two days _ , Din! Two days!”

Din laughed. “I told you that your old one was on its deathbed. Twenty minutes of power cell is a crime against technology. You should have put it out of its misery long before it ever came into contact with the quicksand.”

“Excuse me, some of us are loyal to our communicators. And anyway, we don’t all have thousands of credits to drop on fancy new tech.”

“It’s not fancy new tech, Lira, and it didn’t cost thousands of credits. It’s literally one of the most basic ones you can buy. Yours belonged in a museum.”

“It  _ does  _ deserve to be in a museum. It’s served me well for  _ years _ , power cell notwithstanding. It’s not its fault that it couldn’t handle a little sand.”

Din shook his head, and huffed another laugh. “That one probably can’t handle sand, either, so be careful with it.”

“Oh, I will! Don’t worry!” She brushed off a tiny speck of dust. “I’m going to keep this one looking perfect.” She turned and beamed at him. “We should call each other every day. Keep our communicators in good working order.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“They don’t need to be used to be kept in working order.”

“But it would be fun to use it!”

“So use it. I’m sure you can find someone else to call.”

“You mean you wouldn’t even answer if I called to chat one night?” Din stared at her without replying. “What if it’s an emergency, Din?”

“You can call if it’s an emergency.”

“But how will you know whether it’s an emergency or me just calling to talk about my day if you don’t answer?”

“If you’re calling, it better be an emergency.”

She laughed. “ _ Fine _ , Mr. I-Hate-Talking.”

Din may have told her he wouldn’t answer, but he knew he was lying. If Lira called him, he would answer, no matter what time of day it was, and no matter what she wanted to talk about. He might not want to admit it to her - he could barely admit it to himself - but he would gladly listen to her talk about her day, every single day, if she wanted to call to discuss it. 

He knew things were different with her than they were with anyone else he knew. For one thing, he would never even consider casually talking to anyone else on his communicator. For another, he couldn’t imagine buying a new communicator for anyone other than Lira. He’d felt he had no choice but to buy her a new one, however, for his own peace of mind, if nothing else. The thought of her being in danger without a way to call for help a  _ second  _ time was something he didn’t want to even have to consider.

He didn’t want to think about the implications of that, although he knew he probably should. He told himself it was because she was his friend, but he knew it was more than that. He also knew how he felt didn’t matter. Nothing could happen between them, he told himself. How  _ could  _ it? He was a Mandalorian, and she deserved better than a man who would never take his helmet off in front of her, whose very way of life was dangerous.

He knew there were ways around the helmet issue, but he didn’t think Lira would ever consider  _ that  _ solution, and he couldn’t blame her. If she ever decided to get married and settle down, he didn’t think she’d choose to  _ settle down _ on the Razor Crest.

His thoughts were interrupted by Lira pointing out another feature of her new communicator. He was grateful for the helmet, once again, because the last thing he wanted was for Lira to be able to read his thoughts on his face.

When they arrived at their destination and Din pulled out the tracking fob, Lira gently placed the communicator in her pocket.

“I should get a fancy case for it. For protection.”

“That’s a good idea. Get one that’s sand proof.”

“You are  _ never  _ going to let the sand thing go, are you?”

“No.”

Lira grinned at the smile in his voice.

_ Six years later… _

Lira met Din at the ramp to the Razor Crest. “Ready to go?”

“Not yet. I need to pick up some more ammo before we leave.”

“That’s fine, we have time.”

They walked to a local shop together, the bells above the door tinkling when Din opened the door, allowing Lira to walk past him.

The merchant greeted them with a nod. “Morning, Mando. Lira.”

Lira waved. “Good morning, Melrand.”

“Oh, Mando! I’m glad you’re here. I got a new shipment in today of various blaster bolts, if you want your weekly supply?”

Lira shot Din a questioning look, but didn’t say anything. She’d wait until they were outside.

“I don’t need any today, Melrand,” Din said.

If Lira didn’t know any better, she would have said Din’s modulated voice sounded suspiciously guilty.

Melrand looked surprised. “Oh! Well, no problem. I’ll set them aside for you until you need them.”

Mando picked up the ammo he needed and carried it to the counter to pay, Lira leaning on the counter next to him.

“Is this everything for today, then?” Melrand asked.

“Yes.”

They finished the transaction and Melrand bade them goodbye.

Once they were outside and the door closed behind them, Lira gave Din a small shove with her elbow. 

“A weekly supply of blaster bolts? I thought you said you just always happened to find extra in your massive weapons closet!”

Din continued to walk in silence.

“Have you been buying the ammo you give me?” 

He sighed. “Yes.”

“ _ Why _ ?”

“I knew you wouldn’t accept the shooting lessons without paying me, but I didn’t want to take your credits, so I used it to buy ammo for you.”

“I didn’t mind paying you! Now I feel like I owe you  _ so much _ for all of those lessons.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“It feels that way,” she grumbled.

They reached the Razor Crest again, and Din stopped before boarding, turning to face her. “You don’t owe me, Lira. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t want to do it.”

“I know, but still! All these years? That’s so much ammo, Din.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“We are!”

“Don’t friends do that for each other?”

“Secretly buy ammo for each other?”

He tilted his head slightly, and Lira sighed.

“Well, thank you. I appreciate it, but you really didn’t have to do that. I can buy my own ammo, you know.”

“I know.”

“I’m not mad, by the way. I’m just surprised. All of those lessons, Din! I thought I was paying you for them.”

“If it makes you feel any better, you can consider the lessons an investment on my part for my own safety so I could be sure you didn’t accidentally shoot me in the back.”

Lira’s eyes widened. “Is that a  _ joke _ , Din Djarin? Did you just make a  _ joke _ ?”

Din turned and made his way up the ramp of the Razor Crest without answering her, and Lira laughed as she ran to catch up to him.

  
  



	7. Chapter Seven

Lira sniffled and pulled her coat tighter around herself. Din glanced over at her but didn’t say anything until a few minutes later when she sneezed three times in a row.

“Are you okay?”

She sniffled again. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re fine.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s just a cold.”

“Do you want me to take you back to Nevarro?”

“No, let’s just finish the job.”

She sneezed again and he turned his chair so he could see her better.

Lira rolled her eyes. “Are you using your helmet to check my vitals?”

“No. I’m just wondering whether I should take you back to Nevarro and make sure you get some rest until you’re well.”

“It’s just a cold, Din, I’m not dying.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“I’m telling you, I’m -” She was interrupted by yet another sneeze. “Fine,” she added with a sniffle.

“You’re not fine.”

He started entering new navs into his console, and she leaned over to see what he was doing. “What are you doing?”

“Making a detour.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to a cantina.”

“I’m not hungry, Din.”

“When I would get sick as a child, the Mandalorians had a remedy they would give me, a certain type of broth. The only place I know to get it now is at a cantina not far from here.”

“What a coincidence.”

Din shrugged a shoulder. “It won’t take long to get there, and we’ll get back to tracking the quarry after you’ve eaten.”

She sighed, realizing she wasn’t going to be able to talk him out of it. “If you insist.”

“I do. I can’t have you spreading germs on my ship.”

“You can’t even get sick thanks to that helmet, Din.”

“Can’t take chances.”

She smiled at the teasing note in his voice. “I’ll try not to sneeze in your direction, then.”

“Thanks.”

_ Later, at the cantina… _

Din ordered the broth for her, and she sat huddled in her chair as they waited for it to arrive.

“It’s so  _ cold  _ in here.”

“It’s not cold.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re covered head to toe in that armor. Look at me - I’m shivering.”

“That’s because you’re sick.”

She waved another dismissive hand. “It’s a  _ cold _ , it’s nothing.”

The server brought the broth and set it in front of Lira, who sniffed it warily. “It smells… unusual.”

“Just eat it.”

“Fine.”

She took a sip and it took every ounce of her willpower to swallow it instead of spitting it out. She coughed after she managed to swallow it, reaching for her spotchka and taking a long drink. “Din, that stuff is  _ vile _ . They gave that to you when you were a  _ kid _ ? I have bad news for you, buddy, I think they were trying to kill you.”

She took another long drink of her spotchka as Din shook his head. “It’s not that bad. You need to eat it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are  _ you  _ trying to kill  _ me _ ?”

“No.”

“Ugh, maybe I need to be drunk to eat this stuff.” She took another drink of her spotchka before trying another sip of the broth, which was no better the second time around. “Ugh, this is terrible. Does this remedy even work?”

“No.”

She sputtered. “ _ No _ ? Then why are you making me eat it?”

Din shrugged. “It’s the only thing I know to do.”

She slowly pushed the bowl of broth away from her. “I appreciate you trying, but if it’s not going to help, I’m not going to force myself to eat it.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“I get the feeling that you enjoyed watching me suffer through those two bites of killer broth.”

He huffed a laugh. “It wouldn’t kill you, and I didn’t  _ enjoy  _ it.”

“You didn’t  _ not  _ enjoy it, though.”

He didn’t answer her question, but she had the feeling he was smiling behind his helmet. “I’m honestly surprised you even tried a second bite.”

“You said it was a Mandalorian remedy that they always gave you when you were sick as a child! I  _ assumed  _ that meant it would work. Maybe eating this stuff is what made you sick.”

“You might be right.”

“Or maybe they thought if the remedy was bad enough, they could keep you from admitting you were sick, thereby making you continue your Mandalorian training without staying in bed to rest.”

“You might be right about that, too.”

“I think we’re getting to the bottom of a lot of your problems, Din.”

“Maybe.”

She sighed. “I guess we should get back to the ship… unless you want to finish up this broth?”

“I’ll pass.”

She tsked. “And yet you wanted me to eat it. I don’t know whether to be offended or not.”

“I was just trying to help,” he said, as they made their way back to the Razor Crest.

“I know. If I thought otherwise, I’d probably have dumped it on your head.”

He laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t. Cleaning broth off this helmet would be a lot of trouble.”

She smiled. Din making small jokes was still a new experience for her, but one she could see herself getting used to, and she hoped he never stopped.

“Yeah, I imagine cleaning that would be quite a hassle. Might short-circuit and cause a lot of problems.”

“Yep.”

They boarded the ship, and Lira made her way to the cockpit, sliding into the co-pilot’s chair. She turned when she noticed that Din wasn’t behind her, but shrugged and faced the front again. She shivered and pulled her hands inside her sleeves.

As bad as the broth had tasted, she would have eaten all of it if Din had told her it would actually help. And even though the broth had been vile and part of her was trying to think of a way of getting him back for making her even taste it, it still warmed her heart that Din had tried to help. It might not have  _ actually  _ helped, but the thought of him  _ wanting  _ to help her feel better meant more to her than she could say. 

She sneezed again, then groaned and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

She heard Din join her in the cockpit, but she didn’t turn to look at him. She was lost in her thoughts, wondering if she had time to take a quick nap while they continued their journey to track the quarry, when she felt something warm being draped around her shoulders.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Din as he sat in the pilot’s chair and began to start up the ship.

She pulled the blanket around her and snuggled back into the chair, already feeling warmer. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“I thought it might make up for the broth.”

She laughed softly. “It  _ does _ . Are there any other Mandalorian remedies that  _ aren’t  _ disgusting that might actually work?”

He pressed a few more buttons and entered the navs for the quarry again. “I don’t think so. If there are, I don’t know about them.”

“Ah, well. It’ll run its course eventually.”

“You should get some rest when we get back to Nevarro. Probably all that’s going to help. That’s what my mother used to say.”

Lira shifted in her seat to glance at Din. He never talked about his past, and he’d definitely never mentioned his mother. She was almost afraid to speak and ruin it. “So she made you sleep a lot when you were sick?” she asked quietly.

“She tried. I’m sure it was hard, though. I was a handful when I was a kid.”

Lira smiled. “You know, I don’t doubt that at all.”

“She’d make me get in bed and then she’d sing to me.”

Lira’s smile softened. “That sounds nice.”

“It was.”

A couple of minutes passed, and Lira looked to Din again. “Are you going to sing for me?”

“No.”

“It would make me feel better.”

“No, it wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I guarantee it would.” He shook his head at her as she grinned. “Fine, I won’t make you sing. Although,  _ that  _ would definitely make up for the broth.”

“I gave you the blanket to make up for the broth.”

She snuggled into the blanket again. “It’s a very warm blanket, and I thank you.”

She sneezed again, then leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

Din glanced over at her, then said, “You should stay on the ship when we get there.”

She turned her head without lifting it from the headrest to look at him. “I can help.”

“You can help by staying on the ship. Believe me, you won’t be doing anyone any favors by sneezing all over them.” He turned back to his console, then, in a quiet voice, added, “Try to sleep.”

“Sleep sounds good.” 

She closed her eyes and was asleep within minutes.

Din shook his head and smiled behind his helmet as she softly snored next to him. He landed the ship, made sure security protocols were engaged so nothing could board the ship while he was gone, and headed out to catch his quarry.

He wished she would have let him carry her back to Nevarro first, but he knew how stubborn she was and he hadn’t wanted to press the issue. The only thing he could think to try was the broth because that was the only thing the Mandalorians had given  _ him _ when he would get a cold as a child. He knew it wouldn’t work - it never had - but he’d felt helpless when faced with her being sick, and he had to try  _ something _ . 

He had surprised himself by mentioning that his mother used to sing to him when he was sick. He never mentioned his parents to anyone, and the fact that it had slipped out so easily when he was talking to Lira hadn’t escaped his notice. He’d tried to talk about them, at first, when the Mandalorians had first taken him in, but he’d learned quickly that talking about something so personal was frowned upon, and he’d vowed never to share his memories of his parents with anyone else. 

He found that he wanted to tell her more about them, though the urge to suppress the memories was still strong. He knew she wouldn’t judge or pity him, though, and it  _ had  _ felt nice to remember his mother singing to him. Maybe, after she was well, he could find a natural point in conversation to bring his parents up again. 

Yet even  _ that _ gave him pause because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d  _ expected  _ to have a conversation with someone in which there could  _ be _ a natural point to mention his parents. He wondered if Lira had noticed the change in him, because now that he thought about it, it was glaringly obvious, and he couldn’t believe he’d reached a point where he  _ longed  _ for someone’s conversation. 

If she’d noticed, she hadn’t mentioned it, for which he was grateful. He still hadn’t quite figured out exactly what he was feeling, and it was easier to try to work through his thoughts alone than to try to say them out loud. 

He knew that he should say something to her eventually, but it was probably best that she not be sick when they had  _ that  _ talk, and anyway, he had a quarry to catch. He’d worry about the rest later.


	8. Chapter Eight

Lira sat in silence and played with the worn and faded rainbow-colored braided bracelet on her wrist as she watched Din press various buttons on his console. After several minutes, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re being uncharacteristically quiet.”

She heard the slightly teasing tone in his voice and smiled. “I’m just thinking.”

He nodded but didn’t press her for more. A few more minutes passed, and he nodded his head toward her wrist, where she was still twisting her bracelet.

“So what’s the deal with the bracelet?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean why do you wear it all the time?”

“I don’t know, it’s just a bracelet.”

She pulled her sleeve down over it and turned her head to look out of the window, away from Din. She felt bad about brushing him off, however, since he rarely ever asked for details about herself, so she turned back to face the console, still avoiding looking in his direction.

“It’s a friendship bracelet.”

“A friendship bracelet?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure if it’s a thing in this galaxy, but on Earth, kids make these little friendship bracelets and give them to their friends. Sort of like a ‘we’ll be friends forever’ pact, but with bracelets and not, you know, blood or something.”

“So who’s the friend?”

Lira shrugged a shoulder in faux nonchalance. “A girl I met at camp one year. Becca.”

Din flicked another switch, and though he made no effort to pry further, Lira kept talking.

“My parents made me go to camp one summer, and I hated it. I was never really good at making friends anyway, so I spent the first couple of weeks by myself. And then one day, they paired me up with Becca for one of the games. I think the counselors felt bad that I was always alone, so they assigned teammates in an effort to keep me from getting left out again.”

She sighed. “Anyway, after a little while, we started talking and actually hit it off. After that, we were inseparable for the rest of the summer. During craft time one day, we made these friendship bracelets for each other and swore we’d always be friends. When the end of summer arrived, we exchanged addresses and promised we’d write to each other every week. I kept my end of the promise, but Becca didn’t.”

“She didn’t write to you?”

“No. Never,” she said quietly. “I wrote to her every week for  _ months _ and I didn’t get a single reply.” She huffed and scratched the bridge of her nose. “And it’s silly, but I kept wearing the bracelet. I liked the feeling of having a best friend, you know? Even though  _ now  _ I know Becca wasn’t a good friend. At the time, I just fooled myself into thinking she was busy, or that she’d moved and lost my address or something. But I saw her at the grocery store one day, months later, and she turned and walked the other way when she spotted me.”

She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. “And then when I got older, I kept wearing it to remind myself that I didn’t need anyone else, that I was fine on my own.” She looked out the window again. “And then I kept wearing it when I left Earth because it was one of the only things I had left from my planet.”

Din pressed another button on his console, then glanced over at her again. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I’m not - what makes you think I’m about to cry?”

“You always crinkle your nose like that when you’re trying not to cry.”

“I don’t -” She stopped talking when she realized he was right. Lira was shocked that he’d noticed something so inconsequential about her, and also shocked to realize that she  _ did  _ crinkle her nose when she was trying to keep herself from crying. The fact that  _ Din _ , of all people, knew that about her when she hadn’t even really known it herself made her stomach flutter. She huffed a laugh. “Anyway, I’m sure that’s way more than you bargained for when you asked about it. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s okay.” He turned to look at her again. “I’m sorry she never wrote to you.”

Lira gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I would have written to you.”

Lira laughed. “You would  _ not  _ have written!”

Din laughed into his modulator. “You’re right. I’ve never been good with written correspondence.”

Lira laughed again, feeling better. “Well, thanks for saying you would, anyway.”

“No problem.” He was silent for a moment, then added, “And it’s Becca’s loss, you know.”

Lira’s smile grew a little more. “Thanks, Din.” She cleared her throat, then said, “I can make one for you, if I can find the materials.”

“That’s okay.”

“You wouldn’t wear it?”

“No.”

“Come on, it would look  _ great  _ with the armor. We could make it black and pink.”

Din turned to stare at her but didn’t speak.

“Black and  _ purple _ ?”

“No.”

“Black and blue!”

“No.”

“Silver?”

“I’m not wearing a bracelet.”

“Okay, if you don’t want to announce our friendship to the world, that’s fine.”

Din shook his head. “I wouldn’t think you’d want to announce your friendship with a Mandalorian to anyone.”

“Yeah, I do try to keep that quiet.”

He laughed again and she grinned at him as she leaned back in her chair, feeling much better than she had a few minutes before. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Back on Earth, Lira had loved holidays. Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Halloween, even Valentine’s Day because she had a weakness for chocolate, one of the few things she missed from her home planet. Holidays no longer held the same appeal for her once she left the planet, however. For one thing, she had no family, no friends on Nevarro to celebrate with, and for another, it meant no jobs.

Greef, as money-hungry as he was, didn’t work on the holidays, and if Greef didn’t work,  _ she  _ didn’t work. She didn’t care about the money, though she liked to be comfortable, but she did like the distraction that the jobs provided.

And since it was Near Year Fete Week, she would have to go  _ days  _ without that distraction. She considered staying in her dwelling and sleeping the days away, but after two hours of lying awake in bed and staring at the ceiling while the people of Nevarro celebrated in the streets outside her door on the first morning of the week, she finally rolled out of bed with a groan.

She took a quick shower, dressed, and decided to go to Greef’s favorite cantina, hoping that  _ maybe  _ he would be there, and  _ maybe  _ he would relent and give her a job that would take her a few days to complete. What better time to get info on a bounty than when they were least expecting it?

With that tiny blossom of hope in her chest, she made her way through the throngs of celebrating citizens to the cantina and stepped aside. If anything, the celebration was even louder and more frenzied inside than it had been out on the street. She searched the crowded room looking for Greef, but he wasn’t at his usual table, and she knew that meant he wasn’t in the cantina at all.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she heaved a sigh. She knew it had been a long shot, but the sight of a stranger in Greef’s chair made her wish she hadn’t left her dwelling at all. She turned and left the cantina again, rejoining the crowds on the street. She considered going back home, but that sounded about as much fun as battling a Krayt dragon, so she took an abrupt detour down a street in the opposite direction of her dwelling.

She wasn’t sure what she was looking for in the form of a distraction, but she hoped she would find it soon.  _ Anything _ sounded better than sitting in her dwelling alone, or worse, feeling alone even though she was surrounded by hundreds of celebrating people. She flinched when someone set off fireworks too close for comfort, then winced as a drunk couple ran past her, shouting and tossing confetti at her.

Maybe she would be better off alone in her dwelling, after all.

She made her way down an alley, hoping to avoid the most crowded areas, and spotted a familiar ship flying overhead, heading toward the landing field. A grin broke out on her face, almost against her will, and she hurried through the crowds to the field.

By the time she reached the landing field, the Razor Crest had already landed, but the ramp hadn’t been lowered. Or, she thought, it might have already been lowered and then raised again. She wrinkled her nose, hoping she hadn’t missed Din, and walked closer to the ship. She couldn’t imagine what he was doing back on Nevarro during New Year Fete Week when he knew as well as she did that Greef wouldn’t have any new bounties for him.

Hoping she’d get the chance to ask him, she walked closer to the ship, just as the rear door began to open up. She grinned as the ramp lowered, taking a step back, then waited for Din to appear. She considered, for a millisecond, walking onto the ship to greet him, but thought it might be safer to wait outside. Boarding a bounty hunter’s ship unannounced and unexpected was just asking for trouble.

Arms crossed, as relaxed as she could be while standing outside a ship waiting for a bounty hunter, she grinned when Din finally appeared at the top of the ramp. He stopped for a beat, and she grinned even wider at the realization that she’d caught him off guard, but he didn’t hesitate before continuing to make his way down the ramp.

When he reached her, she winked. “Happy new year.”

He tilted his head and placed his hands on his hips. “Happy new year.”

“I didn’t expect to see you during New Year Fete Week. Greef doesn’t have any bounties, you know.”

“Already double-checked?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged an armor-clad shoulder. “Worth a shot.”

“That’s what  _ I _ thought, too. I can’t believe Greef takes  _ holidays  _ off. The  _ nerve _ .”

Din laughed, which made Lira’s smile grow even more. He nodded in her direction. “What are you doing at the landing field?”

“Oh, I was fighting crowds in the city and saw your ship fly overhead, so I thought I’d take a chance to see if you were going to land.”

“You walked all the way out here just to see if I landed? What would you have done if I hadn’t?”

Lira shrugged. “Walked back.”

Din shook his head. “I take it you’re not too fond of the New Year Fete celebrations?”

“How’d you figure that out?”

“You’re standing in a landing field talking to me instead of in the city celebrating with everyone else. I’m sure there are plenty of parties you could join.”

She shrugged again. “Not a big fan of parties.”

“Neither am I.”

Lira laughed. “You know, somehow that doesn’t surprise me at all.”

They stood without speaking for a moment, the late evening sun shining down on them as they listened to the celebrations in the distance. Lira considered asking him if he wanted to go get a drink, but knew he wouldn’t actually  _ drink _ anything, and she didn’t fancy fighting the crowds at the cantina anyway.

Before she had a chance to come up with another option, Din interrupted her thoughts. “Did you celebrate something like the New Year Fete on Earth?”

Lira was more surprised by his question than by the fact that he was even on Nevarro in the first place. He rarely asked her about her life on Earth. “Yeah, we had New Year’s Eve and Day.”

“How do people on Earth celebrate it?”

“Fireworks, drinking, making resolutions they don’t intend to keep, kissing someone at midnight. A giant ball drops as the old year dies. Normal things, you know.”

Lira could never quite tell if Din picked up on her sarcasm - it was next to impossible to know with the helmet hiding his expressions - but she was pleasantly surprised when he said, “Yeah, all normal things.”

She flashed him a wry grin. “So normal I can’t believe it’s not the way people  _ everywhere _ celebrate.”

“Well, the fireworks and drinking seem pretty standard.”

“True. And I imagine  _ someone _ will be kissing at midnight.”

“Somebody might even drop a giant ball at some point.”

Lira laughed, delighted at this version of Din. “They might! We could do it, you know.”

“What? Drop a giant ball at midnight?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “What else is there to do?”

“Where are you going to get a giant ball?”

“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“Maybe some of the other things would be easier. Like the ‘making resolutions’ part.”

“You may have a point.”

Din huffed another quiet laugh. “What are your resolutions going to be?”

Lira thought for a moment, her brows creased. “I don’t know. Maybe to explore a planet I haven’t visited yet. Or maybe actually attempt to make some friends here or something.”

“Those are good ones.”

“ _ Thank  _ you,” she grinned. “What about yours?”

“I don’t know.”

“There has to be  _ something _ .”

She watched him as he stood in silence, and just as she wondered if he was ever going to answer, he repeated, “I don’t know.”

Unwilling to pressure him, she nodded. “No worries, I put you on the spot with the whole resolution thing anyway. Coming from Earth, I have the standards to fall back on - make new friends, get in shape, take over the world - but it’s a new concept for you.”

She got the impression that he  _ had  _ come up with something, but had changed his mind about speaking it aloud at the last minute. She could respect his privacy, however, and wouldn’t press for an answer.

“I guess the whole kissing at midnight thing is out, too, isn’t it?” she asked with a wink. “With the helmet and all.”

“Yeah, that’s out, too.”

“Well, there’s no giant ball,” Lira said, counting on her fingers, “no kissing, we’re terrible at resolutions, and drinking is also clearly out. We’re no good at celebrating New Year’s.”

“Looks that way.”

Lira glanced over and noticed that the sun was already starting to set. She didn’t want to leave Din, but she also didn’t want to fight her way through the drunken, celebratory crowds after dark. She could take care of herself, thanks to all the lessons with Din, but she’d rather not have to put her skills to the test. And the  _ last  _ thing she’d do would be to ask Din to escort her home. She’d never hear the end of it.

Just as she opened her mouth to tell him she should probably head home, he spoke again. “I have an idea.”

She raised a brow. “What’s your idea?”

“Come on, I’ll show you.”

He turned and started walking up the ramp back to the ship without waiting to see if she would follow him, and she sighed, rolling her eyes at herself, knowing he knew she would follow him.

When she reached the cockpit, she tried again. “So where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Lira laughed as she watched him start up the Razor Crest. “A  _ surprise _ ? I didn’t think you did surprises?”

“I work best with the element of surprise.”

“Yeah, the  _ element of surprise _ is pretty useful for a bounty hunter, I admit, but I meant like,  _ surprises _ .” He didn’t respond and Lira smirked. “I’m always learning something new about you, Din Djarin.”

She turned to look out the windows of the ship as he expertly piloted the Razor Crest into the air. The sky had quickly darkened as the sun had lowered, and the lights of the city twinkled below them.

They rode in silence for a few minutes until Din maneuvered the ship so that they could see the city in the distance, then pressed a few buttons until they were hovering in place.

“We should have a good view from here,” he said.

She turned to look at him. “A good view for what?”

“You’ll see.”

“You’re maddening, you know that?”

“You’re just impatient.”

Lira sighed, knowing she could dispute that statement, but unwilling to give reasons as to why she was most definitely  _ not _ impatient.

“Fine, don’t tell me. I can wait. We can talk in the meantime.”

Din reached out to flip a switch as though to set the Razor Crest back in motion. “In that case, I’ll take you back now.”

Lira laughed and pulled his arm back down. “No! Don’t take me back yet. You don’t have to talk, you can just listen.”

He turned to stare at her and reached his hand back to the switch again without looking away from her.

Lira held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! No talking.” She watched him for a moment before adding, “You know, one of these days I’m going to introduce a topic so tantalizing that you won’t be able to resist talking.”

“Is that right?”

“Yep.”

“What topic?”

“I have no idea yet.” He chuckled, and she added, “I’m sure I’ll come up with something.”

“If anyone can, I’m sure it will be you.”

“Why,  _ thank you _ , my dear Mandalorian.”

Din tilted his head toward the window of the ship. “You’re missing the show.”

Lira’s brows creased. “What show?” She turned to look where Din had indicated, and gasped. “Fireworks!”

They lit up the dark sky in front of them, seeming almost close enough to touch, but not close enough for them to be in any danger of being hit. Every color she could imagine was represented in the performance, and it was more stunning than anything Earth could have offered.

“They’re beautiful,” she breathed.

“Are they as good as the ones on Earth?”

“They’re so much better!”

They continued to watch in silence, Lira delighted, unaware of Din watching her more than the fireworks.

When the last one exploded against the sky and dissolved into sparks that disappeared into the blackness, she turned to Din again. “That was beautiful! Thank you for bringing me up here to watch.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did!” She swiveled back and forth in her seat as she watched him. “I was expecting not to celebrate at all, and just to, I don’t know, hide in my dwelling for the whole week, but this was much more fun.”

He nodded at her, and she took it for agreement, though she couldn’t ever imagine a Mandalorian admitting to having something as mundane as  _ fun _ .

He piloted the ship away from the city instead of towards it and Lira shot him a confused look. “Where are we going now?”

“I thought we might be able to find more fireworks.”

She sat up, clearly enthused by the idea. “Chasing fireworks!”

They moved from fireworks show to fireworks show, until finally they traveled for an hour without seeing any more.

“I think that’s it,” Din said, turning the Razor Crest back toward Nevarro.

“What time is it?”

“Probably a little after midnight.”

“Oh!” He turned at her exclamation, and before she could overthink it too much, she leaned over and kissed his helmet where his cheek would be. Her face flamed, but she tried to cover it. “Can’t forget the Earth traditions.”

He stared at her without saying anything, but she didn’t miss the way his hand tightened on the chair’s armrest or the way he continued to stare. At least, she thought he was staring. His helmet was facing in her direction, anyway.

Embarrassed, she faced the front again, trying to distract herself by looking out the window. She didn’t know what to say or do to ease the sudden tension in the cockpit, not sure what Din was thinking or what he’d thought about her kiss on his helmet.

They were almost back to her city when Din spoke again. “I’m glad I bumped into you this evening.”

Lira turned at the sound of his voice, grateful that he didn’t sound annoyed or upset. “Me, too. Although, can it be considered ‘bumping into someone’ when that person is standing there waiting for you to leave your ship?”

“Probably not.”

“That’s probably more like stalking, now that I think about it. Sorry about that.”

Din laughed, and Lira’s embarrassment lightened a very miniscule amount.

“I didn’t think you were stalking me. If you were, you’re terrible at it.”

“Hey!” she laughed. “I would have been sneakier if I’d been  _ trying  _ to stalk you.”

“I’m sure you would have been.”

Din parked the Razor Crest in the landing field again, then stood when Lira did.

“You don’t have to walk me back, Din. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s dangerous this late at night.”

“Actually, it’s probably considered early in the morning at this point.”

“Even more dangerous. Only the most dangerous people are out at this time of morning.”

“We’re out,” Lira pointed out.

“Exactly.”

Lira laughed and followed him off the ship. She  _ would  _ have been fine on her own, but she was grateful for his presence all the same. There weren’t many people still out, most already having returned to their homes to sleep off the day and prepare for more celebrations later, but the ones who  _ were  _ still out were definitely of the unsavory variety.

When they reached her dwelling, Lira unlocked the door then turned back to Din. “Thanks again for tonight.”

“You’re welcome.”

It felt like the ending of a date to Lira. The awkward part where neither person knows how to end the night, so both just stand there in silence, trying to meet the other’s eyes, and awkwardly breaking eye contact when it happens, small smiles playing on both of their lips. Except she had no idea what Din was doing or thinking behind his helmet, and it had assuredly  _ not _ been a date. Unfortunately.

Desperate for something to say to break the silence, Lira asked, “What are you going to do for the next week without a bounty puck from Greef?”

“I don’t know. I might hang around here.”

“Hang around here? With the  _ revelers _ ?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“And the  _ celebrations _ ?”

“Sure.”

“Are you going to turn into someone who celebrates all the holidays?”

“No.”

“Waving sparklers and throwing confetti and drinking, wearing flower crowns on your helmet?”

“No.”

“Are you  _ sure _ , Din Djarin? Are you secretly someone who wears flower crowns?”

“No.”

Lira grinned. “I can make one for you, if you want.”

“Please don’t.”

“I think it would look lovely. It would set off the black of your helmet nicely.” He continued to stare at her without replying, and Lira laughed. “I won’t make you a flower crown, I promise.”

“Thank you.”

They were back at the awkward silence part again, and Lira cursed herself for not knowing how to successfully end a night without being socially inept. Din surprised her by being the one to break the silence.

“Do you want to go with me again tomorrow?”

“Yes.” She didn’t even care what he planned to do, she just knew she wanted to be with him.

“You’re not going to ask where I’m taking you?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Oh.”

A tiny smile played on the corner of Lira’s lips at the tone of his ‘oh,’ and she tried to cover it by asking, “Where  _ are  _ you taking me, though?”

“To see more fireworks.”

“Then definitely yes.”

“Actually, they probably have better ones on Coruscant. We could go there instead.”

“Ooh, yes! Let’s do it.”

“We’d have to leave earlier.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe we could even visit the planet, see how their celebrations are different from Nevarro’s. That could count towards your resolution.”

“Technically, yes.” She was touched that he’d remembered her half-joking resolutions from earlier.

“We’d need to leave even earlier if we wanted to spend time there before the fireworks.”

“When would we need to leave?”

Din looked to the sky, calculating the time. “Now.”

Lira’s eyes widened, but she laughed. “ _ Now _ ?”

“Unless you have other plans.”

“I mean, I was planning to  _ sleep _ at some point.”

“You can sleep on the ship. If you want.”

If any other man had told her she could sleep in his ship-that-doubled-as-his-home while he flew her to another planet, she would have laughed in his face before pulling out her blaster. But she trusted Din with her life, so instead, she locked her door again, linked her arm with his, and said, “Let’s go.”


	10. Chapter Ten

_ One year later… _

Lira sighed wearily as she dropped her bag in her cramped room. The room worked as her living room, bedroom,  _ and _ kitchen, while the only other room in her dwelling was a small bathroom. It wasn’t much, but it was hers, and it was one of the only places she ever felt comfortable enough to relax completely. She didn’t care about relaxing at the moment, however. All she currently wanted was a long, hot shower, and to collapse onto her bed to sleep for as long as possible.

The trip to search for a quarry the day before had turned into an unexpected battle to the death, and she was exhausted. She’d thanked her lucky stars for all the weapon lessons that Din had given her. Without them, she knew she never would have made it out alive. It had taken her and Greef’s bounty hunter - his  _ worst  _ bounty hunter - all night to return to Nevarro, and after meeting up with Greef for her cut of the bounty, she’d headed straight home.

She pulled a pair of clean pajamas out of a drawer, intent on getting a shower as quickly as possible, when her communicator beeped. Mumbling under her breath about just wanting to be left alone, she pressed the button to answer it. She was surprised when she saw Din’s holo-image appear.

“Din! What’s going on?”

The Mandalorian was not one to call for idle chit-chat, and she wasn’t even sure he’d ever even reached out to her before. They usually met at the cantina, completed the bounty jobs, and then rarely spoke again until the next time they met up at the cantina, unless they happened to bump into one another. For him to call her out of the blue, she knew something must have happened.

“I need your help,” he told her.

“Of course! What do you need?”

“I need you to be on the Razor Crest in twenty minutes, ready to take off as soon as I get there.”

“I can do that. Are you docked in your usual place?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you, Lira.”

The call disconnected before she could reply again, and she knew he must be in a hurry. Her exhaustion forgotten for the moment, she dumped everything out of her bag, grabbed a few clean clothes out of a drawer and shoved them into the bag, then picked up her toiletries that were scattered across the bed. She added them to the mess inside her bag, zipped it, and pulled it onto her shoulder. She headed to the door, grabbed her camera bag, then closed and locked the door behind her again.

She made it to the Razor Crest with only five minutes to spare. She opened the ramp with the code Din had given her a couple of years before, left it open in case he needed to board in a hurry, then hurried up to the cockpit.

She tossed her bags to the side and slid into Din’s chair, sparing only a moment to think about the fact that it was the first time she’d ever sat in it. She focused, trying to remember how to start the ship. She flipped a few switches and pressed a few buttons, but was distracted by blaster fire a couple of streets over.

Hoping that Din wasn’t involved in that, she turned her attention back to the console, trying to remember the final few steps. She’d watched him start the ship many times over the years, but she’d never paid enough attention and now she regretted it.

More blaster fire started up in the distance and she began to get nervous. She closed her eyes, trying to remember Din’s process as he started up the Razor Crest. Opening her eyes again, she flipped the final two switches and, to her delight, heard the roar of the engines.

She grinned in triumph, but her smile slid from her face when she spotted Din running toward the ship, blaster fire aimed at his back. She climbed down to the lower level, removed her blaster from its holster, and crouched down near the open door, firing at Din’s attackers.

Din boarded the ship at a run, rushing to close the rear door, when Greef Karga appeared, surprising both Din and Lira.

“Hold it, Mando,” ordered Karga. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but then you broke the code.”

Din took a subtle step to the side to block Lira from any blaster fire, then glanced at a control panel on the wall next to him. Karga noticed it a moment too late.

Din shot a fibercord whip from the vambrace on his arm to the control panel, causing smoke to billow out and temporarily hide them from Karga’s view, though Karga fired his blaster blindly, nonetheless.

Din fired his own blaster in return, knocking Karga off the ramp and out of the ship, then he closed the rear door and immediately headed to the cockpit, Lira right behind him.

When she stepped into the cockpit, he turned and placed a small bundle in her arms.

“Be gentle with it.”

He hurried to the pilot’s chair and got them airborne and away from the battle still raging outside as Lira sat next to him.

The bundle started to move and Lira stared at Din in alarm. “What is this?”

He took the bundle back and slowly pulled the top of the blanket away, revealing a small green creature with large eyes.

“Din… what’s going on?”

“Can you hold him while I get us into hyperspace?”

“Yes.”

She took the bundle from him again, and the small creature cooed quietly at her, reaching a tiny hand out of the blankets. She blinked at it in confusion, then turned back to Din.

“Where did you get a baby, Din?”

He glanced at her, then back to the console. “It’s a long story.”

“I think we have time.” There was a beat of silence. “Is it yours?”

He stared at her for a moment. “No, it’s not mine.”

“Okay, well, you know I had to ask. I mean, you show up with a baby out of nowhere, you have to know people are going to question it.”

Din sighed. “It was the bounty I collected earlier today.”

“The baby was the bounty?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Why do you have him now?”

Din was silent for a moment, and the only sound was the quiet babbling of the small baby sitting on Lira’s lap. “I couldn’t leave him with them.”

“Were they going to hurt him?”

“I’m not sure. I couldn’t take that chance.”

The baby cooed again and offered a small smile to Lira, who couldn’t help smiling back. “I’m glad you saved him. What’s his name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Poor little thing.” She watched the child for a moment, then turned her attention back to Din. “Where are we going?”

“I need to find a safe place to hide him for a while. They’ll be looking for us.”

She nodded. “Any ideas?”

“I think we should try Sorgan.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you, by the way. For coming to help.”

“Of course.”

“I know I didn’t give you much information.”

“You didn’t give me  _ any  _ information.”

“I know. I’m sorry. There wasn’t time.”

“I know there wasn’t. I’m not upset with you, if you’re worried about that.”

He nodded. “Thank you. I know it wasn’t fair of me to drag you into this. I didn’t know who else I could trust.”

His words warmed her. “I’m glad you called.”

There was silence for a few minutes, and the exhaustion Lira had felt earlier came back tenfold. Her head began to nod until Din spoke again.

“You should get some rest,” he told her. “You can use my bed. Leave the child here and I’ll watch him.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying up here.”

“You need to rest.”

She nodded, then stood and handed the child to Din. “I’ll just get a little rest and then I’ll be back soon.”

“Rest as long as you can, Lira. You’ll be safe, and I’m not sure how much rest we’ll get in the future.”

“Okay.”

She picked up her bags, which were still lying where she’d dropped them earlier, then headed down to Din’s small bed. She wrinkled her nose at the size of the closet, wondering once again how Din ever managed to fit inside it. She changed into her pajamas, crawled into the closet, and pulled a blanket up to her chin, trying to quiet her mind.

The overhead light dimmed after she was still for a few moments, but she couldn’t fall asleep. She couldn’t help but relive everything that had happened since Din had called her only an hour earlier. She still had a hundred questions that she’d been too tired to ask Din, though she knew she’d need to do so when she woke up. 

She didn’t understand why Greef had turned on them, but knew it probably had something to do with the fact that Din now had a  _ baby _ on board with him. A baby who was a  _ bounty target _ . What Din thought he was going to do with a baby, she had no idea. 

She also couldn’t help dwelling on the fact that Din had trusted her enough to not only call her when he needed help, but to also allow her onto his ship, his sanctuary, and trust her to have it ready to take off when he returned.

That thought calmed her enough to finally drift off to sleep. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

When Lira woke a few hours later, she joined Din in the cockpit again, taking the child from him with a smile. 

“Good morning, little one.”

The small green child cooed softly at her and Lira kissed the top of his head. “He’s so cute, isn’t he, Din?.”

Din glanced over at them, but didn’t reply to her question, instead asking, “Did you sleep well?”

“I did, which surprised me, honestly. I don’t think I moved at all. When was the last time you rested, by the way?”

He tilted his head slightly. “I napped a little while you slept.”

Lira’s brows drew together in concern. “Sitting up?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t rest well like that.”

“It’s fine.”

“You should go try to get some sleep.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, if you want to be a zombie, that’s your business.”

Din turned to stare at her. “What’s a zombie?”

“Oh, it’s an Earth thing. Someone who was dead? And came back to life? They move kinda slow and aren’t very bright, and if people don’t get enough sleep, they kinda act like… zombies. Kinda.”

Din continued to stare at her for a few more seconds. “I think you’re making that up.”

Lira laughed in surprise. “You think I’m making up  _ zombies _ ?”

“Yes.”

“How could I even make up something like that?”

“Maybe you have a very vivid imagination.”

“Okay, maybe, but I didn’t make up zombies.”

“Sometimes I think you make up half the things you tell me about Earth.”

“Like what?”

“The music, McRonald’s,  _ zombies _ .”

“All of that is real! Okay, zombies aren’t  _ real _ , but it’s a real horror movie trope. And it’s Mc _ Donald _ ’s.”

She could sense his skepticism even without seeing his face. 

“And McDonald’s is real?”

“McDonald’s is real. I mean, the food is questionable, but it’s a real restaurant.”

“I don’t know how anyone could eat something called McNuggets.”

Lira laughed again. “Listen, McNuggets might not be gourmet food, but it’s loads better than some of the food found in the Outer Rim.” 

The child babbled and stuck his fingers in his mouth, and Lira wrinkled her nose. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about food until we can feed the little one.”

Din sighed. “We’ll arrive on Sorgan soon. We can get him food then.”

The events of the previous night came back to her at the mention of Sorgan, along with her fear and the many questions she had. 

“Din,” she said quietly, “what happened yesterday? Why did Greef attack you?” She hesitated, then added, “He said you broke the code.”

Din sighed again and took a few moments to gather his thoughts. “I did.”

“What did you  _ do _ ?” She glanced down at the small creature sitting on her lap. “Besides obtaining a baby.  _ Stars _ , Din, what are we going to do with a  _ baby _ ?”

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, one thing at a time, then. How did you break the code?”

“I delivered the bounty and accepted the payment for the job. And then I went back and stole the bounty from  _ them _ . I got  _ involved _ . A bounty hunter is supposed to deliver the bounty, take the payment, and leave. Not ask questions, not worry about what’s going to happen to the target. I should have left him there and not looked back.”

She was surprised at his outburst, and knew the previous day’s events had gotten to him. “But you couldn’t do that, Din. You may be a Mandalorian and a bounty hunter, and you may have to kill people sometimes, but you’re a good man at heart. If you had doubts about leaving the baby, there had to be a reason for it. You have good instincts. And it was a  _ baby _ . No wonder you had doubts. Why would there be a bounty on a  _ baby _ ?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shaking his head. “I’ve been trying to figure it out all night.”

“And Greef?”

“He wanted to take the child back to the client. I betrayed him as much as I did the client, and he wasn’t happy about it.”

“I gathered that,” she said with a wry smile. “But to try to  _ kill _ you?”

“His reputation was on the line.”

“But  _ still _ .” 

Yet even though Greef had aimed a weapon at Din, part of her was worried about him. Din had  _ shot  _ him. Greef had been her friend for years, and he was the only reason she’d been able to get on her feet in the Outer Rim in the first place. She’d known him longer than Din, and though she now felt closer to Din than she did to Greef, she didn’t want him to  _ die _ . Just the thought of it broke her heart, and she tried to steady her voice before she spoke again.

“Did you… did you shoot to kill?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer, but she needed to ask. 

Din didn’t answer for several seconds, avoiding her gaze as he flipped a couple of switches on his console. When the silence was almost unbearable to Lira, he finally turned to look at her. “No.”

Lira released her breath in a relieved sigh. “So he might be okay?”

“He’s probably alive. For now, at least.” Din checked the map on his console screen again, then added, “We’re almost to Sorgan.”

Grateful for the change of subject, she asked, “Do you know much about Sorgan?”

“It’s out of the way and we should be able to find a place to lay low for a while. That’s all that matters right now.”

Lira nodded. “Sounds good. So things were a little hectic last night and there was no time to talk about it, but… new armor, huh?”

Din glanced down at his new Beskar armor, then looked to Lira for a moment before facing the console again. “Yes.”

“It looks nice.”

“Thanks.”

“Really nice.”

He turned to stare at her again. “Thanks…”

She flushed slightly, but kept talking. “I mean, your old armor was okay. It got the job done, you know? But this… suits you.”

“Thank you.”

“Can you say anything besides ‘thanks?’”

“I don’t know what else you want me to say about it.”

“Well, where did you get it, for starters?”

“It was the bounty reward.”

“Wow. The reward for the Child?”

“Yes.”

She glanced back to the Child, who was still sitting placidly on her lap. “They must have really wanted him, huh?” she asked quietly.

“Seems that way.”

“So the whole armor set was the reward?”

Din shook his head. “The Beskar was the reward. I had the Armorer make it into armor.”

“Nice.”

Din turned to face her once more. “Can you say anything besides ‘nice?’”

She heard the smile in his voice and laughed. “Okay, I deserved that.”

“You’re right, though. It  _ is _ nice.”

“Is Beskar better than what you had before?”

“Yes.”

“A  _ lot _ better?”

He tilted his head. “Yes.”

“I’m glad you’ve got it, then.”

“Me, too.”

“And, you know, it looks…  _ nice  _ on you.”

He shook his head, but she still heard the smile in his voice. “ _ Thanks. _ ”

Lira began to talk to the Child in a soft voice while Din focused on getting them to Sorgan. He’d been trying to think about ways of getting them out of this mess of his own making ever since the night before, and he was no closer to an answer than he had been last night. He was even  _ less _ confident about his choices after talking to Lira. 

Not only had he put himself in this position, he’d pulled Lira into it, as well, and he hated himself for that. If he hadn’t called her for help, she would be safe at home and not on the run with an exiled bounty hunter. He’d always done his best to keep her safe - giving her weapons lessons so she could defend herself while on missions for Greef, keeping an eye on her while they were together - and yet  _ he’d  _ been the one to put her in unnecessary danger in the end. 

And she had a point when she’d asked what he was going to do with a  _ baby _ . He didn’t know the first thing about taking care of a child, much less a baby. He glanced over to the two of them, surprised at how naturally Lira seemed to adapt to keeping the child occupied. He didn’t know if she had much experience with children, and realized that even though he’d known her for over a decade, he really didn’t know much about her life on Earth at all.

It was just one more thing to make him regret calling her the night before. She didn’t deserve to be pulled into his problems when he rarely even took the time to ask her about herself and her life before they’d met. 

He made up his mind, speaking before he could change it. “I’m going to take you back to Nevarro.”

Lira’s head shot up, and she was sure she must have misunderstood him. “What?”

“I said I’m taking you back. There’s a chance no one knows you’re with me - “

“Greef knows,” she interrupted.

“And he won’t want to see you hurt. I don’t think he’d tell the Client you were with me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You can always tell him the truth, that you didn’t know anything about my plan and that I made you leave with me against your will.”

“That’s not the truth. It wasn’t against my  _ will _ , Din. You didn’t  _ kidnap _ me.”

“But I didn’t give you much choice.”

“I didn’t have to show up in the first place, Din. I knew something was wrong when you called just by the fact that you  _ called _ . I didn’t have to agree to get your  _ ship started up,  _ ready to leave  _ as soon as you boarded _ . I mean, that in itself is suspicious. But I did it anyway, because I trust you and I always want to help you. So, no, it wasn’t against my will.”

Din sighed, his words laced with frustration. “Greef doesn’t need to know that, Lira, and neither does the Client. I can drop you off somewhere near Nevarro, and you can just tell them you have no idea where I went, that I only used you to have the Razor Crest ready for my escape.”

“No.”

“Lira -”

“I said  _ no _ . I’m not going back.”

“It’s not safe.”

“It’s never safe with you, Din! You’re a bounty hunter! Do you think I go along with you thinking it’s  _ safe _ ? I frequent some of the most dangerous places in the Outer Rim when I’m getting info on Greef’s targets. That’s my  _ job.  _ Do you think  _ that’s  _ safe? Because it’s not.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He was quiet for a moment, then said, “But I still think you should go back.”

“No,” she repeated, though her tone was softer. “You’re my friend, Din. I want to help you.”

Lira calling him her friend and being willing to put herself in danger for him made his heart rate quicken, while at the same time making him feel even worse about himself for allowing her to do so. “You’re sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“You know it won’t be easy, right?”

Lira rolled her eyes. “Nothing with you is  _ easy. _ ” 

“They’re going to be after us.”

“I know.”

“And they won’t be kind if they manage to catch us.”

“I know that, too,” she said in a quiet voice.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt, especially if it’s my fault.”

“I don’t think it can be considered  _ your  _ fault if I make the decision to stay. And I don’t want to see you hurt, either, you know.” 

Din still thought it was a bad idea, but couldn’t deny that having her with him made the whole thing seem more manageable, though only slightly. He’d been used to being on his own for so long before he’d met her, and though it scared him to think he needed anyone’s help, he knew that having someone he trusted completely by his side might mean the difference between life and death.

“Okay.”

“I can stay?”

“I still think it’s a bad idea, and I still wish you’d let me take you back to safety, but, yes. You can stay.”

“You won’t regret it, Din.”

“I already do.”

The defeat in his voice almost broke Lira’s resolve. She bit her lip, wondering if maybe it would be easier on him if she  _ did  _ go home, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest knowing he was in danger. And if she was with him, she could  _ help _ . She wasn’t deluded enough to think she could  _ protect  _ him - she knew he’d bear the weight of protecting them - but she could do  _ something  _ to ease the load for him. 

“Okay, well, I’ll do what I can to help. Just… just tell me what to do.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He turned in his chair to look at her, studying her worried face as she stared back at his helmet, hoping against hope that he could keep her safe. “It means… a lot. That you’re coming with me, I mean.”

Lira wasn’t sure what to say, surprised at his uncharacteristic openness. “Well, it means a lot that you’re  _ letting  _ me come with you.”

Din nodded, suddenly uncomfortable, something he wasn’t used to in Lira’s presence. He felt like they were edging too close to something best left unsaid for now, and maybe forever. 

He returned his attention to his console. “We’re about five minutes from landing.”

Lira smiled at the child. “Hear that, little one? We’ll get some food for you soon.”

He tilted his head to the side, and Lira’s smile grew as she straightened the collar on his tiny coat. 

“Any idea what he’d eat?” Din asked.

“Nope, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”

They sat in silence for the last few minutes of the trip, both lost in thought, wondering if they were each making the right decision. For Lira’s part, she was equal parts terrified and determined. She knew it was going to be dangerous and that part of her might one day soon long to be back in the safety of her own home, but the other part of her, the part that cared for Din, knew she was right where she needed to be, no matter what happened. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Once they landed on Sorgan, Din led them to a small open-air tavern where they could find food, and Lira settled the child into a seat next to her while Din scanned the area for threats. When the waitress approached them, he asked her about a woman who was sitting in the corner of the tavern. 

Lira glanced over to the woman and then back to Din, though she remained quiet as he continued to ask questions. After the waitress had told him everything she knew, he ordered food for Lira and the child, and she left to fill the order. 

Lira raised a brow at Din. “You didn’t think it might be nice to ask me what I wanted to eat before you ordered?”

Din stared at her for a moment. “Believe me, bone broth will be the most palatable thing you’ll find here.”

Lira wrinkled her nose. “Fair enough. And this is where you want to stay?”

He tilted his head. “They don’t have McNuggets, but I think we’ll survive.”

She gave him a look and then glanced back to where the woman he’d asked the waitress about had been sitting, but she was gone.

She turned back to Din. “Who was she?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why were you asking about her?”

Din sighed. “She looked out of place here, and if she’s someone who will cause problems for us, we’ll need to find somewhere else to go. Stay with the kid. I’ll be back.”

He stood, and Lira looked at him in confusion. “Where are you going?”

“I need to check something.”

He left without another word and Lira looked at the child, who was sitting next to her, quietly clapping his hands together. “He never tells us anything, you know.” The child babbled something incomprehensible and Lira laughed. “You’re right.”

The waitress returned with their food, and Lira took sips of her broth in between feeding the child. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d eaten in the Outer Rim, but it was close, and she did her best to eat it without letting her face show exactly what she thought of it.

Din returned a few minutes later, accompanied by the woman he’d asked about earlier.

Lira shot Din a questioning look as he sat next to the child. “Why do you look like you’ve been rolling around in the dirt?”

The woman laughed as she took the seat on the other side of Lira. “Probably because he’s been rolling around in the dirt.”

Din shook his head, but ignored Lira’s question. “Lira, this is Cara Dune.”

Lira smiled at the woman, though she was still confused about why she was sitting with them. “It’s nice to meet you, Cara.”

“Likewise.”

Din began to ask Cara questions about what she was doing on Sorgan, and Lira continued to feed the child as she listened to Cara’s answers. Lira was pretty sure she understood why Din was so curious about her. She  _ did _ seem a little out of place on Sorgan, and if they were supposed to be lying low, a shock trooper, even a retired one, might not be the best company.

Finally, Cara stood. “Thanks for the broth, but unless you want to go another round, one of us is going to have to move on, and I was here first.”

She grinned at them and walked away, and Din sighed. “Looks like this planet’s taken.”

“Another round, huh?” Lira asked, arching a brow at him.

“It’s nothing.”

She looked skeptical, but let it go. “Where do you think we should try next?”

“I’m not sure. If you’re finished eating, we should get back to the ship.”

“Aren’t you going to get some food?”

“No.”

“You can eat it on the ship later.”

“I’m fine.”

“Listen, if I had to eat bone broth, you can eat it, too.”

She motioned the waitress over again and ordered another bowl of bone broth to go, then grinned at Din. “It’s too bad they don’t have McNuggets.”

She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was rolling his eyes behind his helmet.

It was dark by the time they returned to the Razor Crest, and Lira tucked the sleeping baby into his pram before joining Din outside to help him do some maintenance to the ship.

“Thought of anywhere we can go yet?”

“No.”

Lira bit her lip. “Well, you know I’m out of my element with that.”

“It’s okay. I’ll think of somewhere for us to go.”

Lira turned at the sound of something rustling in the bushes, then placed a hand on Din’s arm. “Din…”

Two men stepped out, and Din and Lira watched them approach for a moment before Din quietly said, “Go stay with the child.”

“But -”

Din faced her. “Keep him safe.”

Lira nodded, then hurried onto the Razor Crest to stay with the child. She rocked his pram gently while she waited for Din to return, then stood when he climbed into the cockpit. 

“We’re going with them.”

“What?”

“They’re farmers and their farm is in the middle of nowhere. Sounds perfect for us, doesn’t it?”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“No, but we don’t have a better option right now.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to try to convince Cara to go with us.”

“Why?”

Din hesitated. “We might need her help.”

Lira sighed. “You’re expecting problems.”

“Yes. The farmers were attacked a few days ago.”

“Attacked? Din, we’re supposed to be finding a safe place for the child, not heading into danger!”

“I know, but if we can remove the threat of attackers, this would be a good place for us to stay for a while.”

“ _ If _ we can remove the threat of attackers.”

Din sighed. “Yes.”

Lira took a deep breath and released it. “Fine, let’s get packed.”

While they packed, Lira kept thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong. She felt like the whole thing was a bad idea, and while she trusted Din’s instincts and knew he could protect them, she didn’t like the thought of going to a strange village and only  _ hoping  _ they’d go undiscovered there. She figured it was only a matter of time before they were found no matter  _ where  _ they were, and they hadn’t traveled far enough away from Nevarro for her comfort.

She kept her thoughts to herself, however, and helped Din load the cart without voicing her concerns. She figured Din was having the same thoughts himself, anyway.

Lira stayed with the child and the two farmers while Din went to get Cara, her anxiety almost palpable until she spotted Din walking out of the treeline toward them, Cara right behind him. 

He joined her on the cart, and she whispered, “I see you were successful.”

“Yep.”

“How’d you convince her?”

“I gave her all the credits the farmers gave us.”

Lira winced. “Well, hopefully it will be worth it.”

Cara hopped into the cart and sat across from them, and Lira snuggled the child a little closer to herself, wrapping the blanket snugly around him to keep him protected from the cool night air. He slept peacefully in her arms, and the steady rolling of the cart started to lull Lira closer to sleep, as well. She yawned and Din turned his head to look at her.

“You should get some rest.”

“So should you.”

She heard a quiet huff of laughter through his modulator and smiled sleepily.

“I’ll rest, don’t worry,” he said.

“Good.”

As much as she wanted to sit and enjoy the sparkling stars above and the feeling of sitting so close to Din, she could barely keep her eyes open long enough to focus, so she finally gave in to sleep. 

She woke a little later and realized she’d fallen asleep with her head against Din’s shoulder. She sat up a little in embarrassment, but he seemed to be asleep and she’d been so comfortable, so she leaned into him again, resting her head against his shoulder once more as she drifted back to sleep.

When she next woke, she realized Din’s arm had found its way around her waist and she was snuggled in much closer than before. The sun was up now, but Din and Cara both seemed to still be asleep, so she slowly sat up so as not to wake them. She was grateful that she’d woken before Din, but then wondered if he had been awake when he’d put his arm around her or whether it had happened in his sleep. The thought of him intentionally putting his arm around her made her blush, and she was glad no one was awake to see.

The child babbled, interrupting her thoughts, and Lira smiled at him. “Shhh, little one. Let’s let them sleep.”

It wasn’t long before she could see small houses in the distance, and she felt Din stir beside her as the cart jolted across the rocky path. When the cart finally stopped rolling, they were surrounded by a group of people to welcome them, and the little one immediately had his own welcoming committee made up of every child in the village.

They hopped out of the cart, and Din followed one of the women from the village to a barn, while Lira and Cara helped carry boxes. The child played happily with the children near the cart, Lira keeping an eye on him while she worked.

When they finished unloading the cart, the woman Din had followed earlier approached Lira and smiled. “Welcome to our village. My name is Omera.”

Lira returned her smile. “I’m Lira.”

“I hope you’ll be comfortable here. We don’t have much, but you’re welcome to all of it.”

“That’s very kind.”

“And your husband asked me to show you where you’ll be lodging.”

“My husband?”

Omera’s brows constricted slightly. “Yes, the Mandalorian. Is he not your husband?”

“No. No, we’re not married. He’s not… we’re just friends.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to imply anything. I just assumed, since he said the two of you would share lodging.”

Lira smiled, trying to put Omera at ease, though her stomach fluttered at the thought of being married to Din. She had to push that thought to the back of her mind before she started to blush. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Omera pointed to a building near the edge of the village. “It’s that one there. It isn’t much, but I hope you’ll be comfortable.”

“I’m sure we will be, thank you.”

Lira made her way to the building Omera had indicated and knocked on the door frame before entering. “Got your helmet on?”

“Yes,” came Din’s voice from inside.

Lira entered and leaned back against the wall, her arms and ankles crossed. “Omera said my husband was in here. Have you seen him? I’d love to meet him.”

Din turned to face her and stared while Lira tried not to laugh. “What?”

Lira shrugged. “She thought we were married.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That we weren’t married. What else was I supposed to tell her? I think she thinks the child takes after you, though.” Lira grinned as Din continued to stare. “ _ Does _ he?”

“Does he what?”

“Take after you.”

Din shook his head slightly and turned back to his Amban rifle. Lira winced and moved next to him to watch as he cleaned the weapon.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you. I feel like I do it too much and it’s hard to tell how you feel about it with the helmet.” She shrugged. “You can tell me to shut up if I’m ever bothering you.”

Din didn’t look up from his Amban rifle. “You don’t bother me.”

A small smile appeared on her face. “I’m glad.”

He set the rifle on the table and finally faced her. “I’ll be sure to tell you if you ever do, though.”

Lira laughed and lightly pushed his arm. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lira could hear the smile in his voice even with the modulator and she couldn’t help grinning at him. He turned back to his rifle and she looked around the small room, shaking her head. 

“No bed?” she asked.

“No. There are enough blankets to be comfortable enough on the floor.”

Lira looked at the floor and wrinkled her nose. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “I guess we can make it work. I’m going to find the little one, make sure he’s not eating frogs again.”

“Okay.”

She looked over her shoulder when she reached the door, glancing back at him one more time before making her way outside, a small, wistful smile on her lips. She didn’t notice that he turned to watch her through the window as she made her way over to the child, wearing a wistful smile of his own behind the helmet as she lifted the child into her arms with a grin.


End file.
